Tebnine (Lebanon)” Nearly four months into their mission of enforcing a ceasefire in southern Lebanon, UN peacekeepers seem to have succeeded in bringing 'calm and peace' to a usually troubled border area during this holiday season. 

"We can say our gift to the Lebanese this year is peace at the border, and this is why we can say our Christmas has a different meaning this year," said an Italian soldier in the UNIFIL (UN Interim Force in Lebanon) contingent in Tebnine, southern Lebanon.

"Peace is the theme for the Christmas holiday," said UN spokesperson Milos Strugar. "Since the ceasefire has been imposed, this is the longest period of calm on the border we have registered so far."

No shooting incidents have been reported across the international line since UNIFIL force began beefing up with the arrival of French troops Aug 19, shortly after a UN ceasefire ended this summer's 33-day Israeli-Hezbollah conflict.

The Lebanese Shia militant group Hezbollah captured two Israeli soldiers July 12, aiming to secure a prisoner swap. Israel responded with a massive month-long offensive on Lebanon.

 
The war ended Aug 14, under the terms of UN Security Council Resolution 1701, which called for Israel's pullout from south Lebanon and the dispatch of Lebanese army troops in tandem with a deployment of a boosted UNIFIL.

The Security Council created UNIFIL in 1978 to confirm Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon, restore international peace and security, and assist the Lebanese government in restoring its authority in the area.

 Following the July-August war, the council decided to enhance the force and extend its mandate.

The peacekeepers were tasked to monitor the cessation of hostilities, accompany and support the Lebanese armed forces in south of Lebanon, and help ensure humanitarian access to civilian populations.

 
Alongside an estimated 15,000 Lebanese soldiers, around 9,700 UNIFIL peacekeepers currently monitor the border with Israel, which has been a flashpoint in the Middle East for decades.

"The deployment of the Lebanese army at the Lebanese border, for the first time in decades, is a positive development and it facilitates the UN mission in the area", said Strugar.

Since Israel withdrew from the area in May 2000, Hezbollah took full control of the border. The Lebanese army was kept away and border breaches occurred on an almost daily basis between Israel and Hezbollah.

Today, the situation looks different due to constant UN patrols. But despite the achievements of securing peace at the border, the now French-led peacekeeping mission remains far from complete.

Israeli planes continue to breach Lebanese airspace almost every day, prompting the UNIFIL force to issue strong warnings against Israel. However, Israel insists that its flyovers are intended to check whether Hezbollah was smuggling weapons into the southern region.

 Hezbollah's weapons remain a troubling issue for Israel and the current West-backed Lebanese government. The group has so far refused to hand over its weapons despite UN's calls.

 UN Security Council Resolution 1559 has called on the Lebanese government to work on spreading its authority over all Lebanese areas and disarm all foreign (Palestinian) and local (Hezbollah) groups.

"Hezbollah's weapons will remain as long as there is even one single Israeli soldier on our land," said Hezbollah's southern Lebanon MP Hassan Fadlallah.

 Hezbollah has vowed to continue fighting Israel until its troops withdraw from Shebaa Farms. According to the UN, Shebaa was captured by Israel from Syria in the 1967 Middle East war. But Lebanon insists - with Syria's consent - that Shebaa is Lebanese and should be returned.

The issue of Hezbollah arms has also divided the country into a pro-Syrian opposition who thinks that the Hezbollah weapons should stay, and the Western-backed anti-Syrian government, which says there should only be one armed force in Lebanon - the Lebanese Army.

"Such a division inside Lebanon can have negative results on the mission of the UNIFIL troops, because the main concern of this force is to help Lebanon spread its authority throughout the country," political analyst George Deeb said.