Southern Lebanon devastation shows why peacekeepers must remain, Helen McEntee says

The wholesale destruction of southern Lebanon by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) demonstrates the need for an continuing international peacekeeping presence in the region, the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Defence has said. Helen McEntee has been visiting the war-ravaged country to meet Irish troops who are part of the last Defence Forces deployment with the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (Unifil). The mission is set to cease operations after almost half a century, having been established in March 1978.

The push to end the mission at the UN Security Council came from the United States , supported by Israel . McEntee travelled from Unifil headquarters to the Irish base at Camp Shamrock, near the Lebanon-Israel border, on Monday. She said the devastation she witnessed during the journey reinforced her view that Ireland should continue to contribute to international peace and security, which could be permitted by changes to the triple lock mechanism. [ Q&A: What is the triple lock and why might it change?

Opens in new window ] The triple lock is a legal provision that requires that three tests be satisfied before more than 12 Irish troops are deployed abroad: a decision by the Government, a vote of the Dáil and UN backing. The Government has said the deadlock on the UN Security Council caused by some of its five permanent members exercising vetoes has resulted in no new UN peacekeeping mission being mandated for 12 years. Opponents of change say removing it would fundamentally alter the nature of a key part of Irish foreign policy and could see Irish troops used for all sorts of foreign military ventures.

“This is about Ireland having a choice, making our own decisions, while at the same time remaining a neutral country,” the Minister told reporters on Monday. Irish troops have done 'phenomenal' work trying to keep communities in south Lebanon safe, Helen McEntee says. Photograph: Defence Forces/PA McEntee said the landscape she saw as she travelled to Camp Shamrock appeared to resemble a place that had been “hit by an earthquake”. “Only it’s not an earthquake.

Every single village that we pass through, bar one, has been completely demolished,” she said. “So every house, every building standing, any car has been demolished, and there’s just no sign of life, which is pretty devastating. Any of the villages that we did pass through where there’s people, I suppose they’re the Christian villages. “While they haven’t been impacted in the same way, those towns have also diminished in population. You have people there that are very scared.”

The Minister said the presence of Irish troops in south Lebanon meant this destruction could be documented. “When Unifil moves out, you have a number of communities that are left here, and you have absolutely no ability to see what the IDF is doing,” she said. “Where we are at the moment, you could say we’re surrounded by the IDF. They’ve put up new posts where Unifil would have been.” The Minister said the IDF was creating a buffer zone and it would make it difficult for the towns and villages to be built up again.

McEntee said Irish troops had done “phenomenal” work trying to keep communities in south Lebanon safe in a difficult environment over the past year. She said the biggest challenge would be when the Unifil mission came to an end. “What we’re seeing here is exactly what we’ve seen happen in Gaza when you have nobody on the ground to be able to monitor and to report back what’s happening,” she said. “You’d have no idea what’s happening here.

What we do need to make sure is that we continue to have a presence ... For Ireland to be able to maintain that presence is really important.” McEntee said the change to the triple lock would allow Ireland to choose where and when it contributed to international peace and security. She said it would mean “we have the ability as a Government to make that decision ourselves”. “There is a lot of rhetoric that we’re going to be forcing people to do things, that we’re going to be forcing our troops to go places,” McEntee said.

“This will always remain Ireland’s choice, and as a neutral country, where our first and foremost priority is peace, it’s stability, it’s imposing our values ... That’s not going to change because the triple lock changes.”