With the United States dangling a veto threat, the Security Council voted unanimously for a resolution that will extend the mandate "a final time" of United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL).

Some 10,800 peacekeepers have been acting as a buffer between Israel and Lebanon since 1978. But the usual renewal of their mandate, which expires Sunday, has been facing hostility this year from Israel and its American ally, who want them to leave.

France, which oversees the issue at the Security Council and has the support of Beirut, had initially considered a one-year extension and referred simply to an "intention" to work towards a withdrawal of UNIFIL.

However, faced with a possible US veto, and following several proposals and a Monday postponement of the vote, the latest draft resolution, as seen by AFP, unequivocally schedules the end of the mission in 16 months.

The Council "decides to extend for a final time the mandate of UNIFIL as set out by resolution 1701 (2006) until 31 December 2026 and to start an orderly and safe drawdown and withdrawal from 31 December 2026 and within one year," the text says.

At that point, the Lebanese army will be solely responsible for ensuring security in the country's south.

The latest draft resolution also "calls on the Government of Israel to withdraw its forces north of the Blue Line" — the UN-established demarcation line between Lebanon and Israel — "including from the five positions held in Lebanese territory."

However, Israel continues to occupy five key areas in the south and carries out near-daily strikes in southern Lebanon.

Last week, Lebanese President Joseph Aoun called for UN peacekeepers to remain, arguing that any curtailment of UNIFIL’s mandate "will negatively impact the situation in the south, which still suffers from Israeli occupation."

*This story was edited by Ahram Online.

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