Strong Measures Needed to Prevent Escalation of Israel-Hezbollah Armed Conflict
TRANSCEND MEMBERS, 30 Sep 2024
René Wadlow – TRANSCEND Media Service
26 Sep 2024 – U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres, in his opening remarks to the U.N. General Assembly on 24 September 2024 said,
“Gaza is a non-stop nightmare that threatens to take the entire region with it. Look no further than Lebanon. We should all be alarmed by the escalation. Lebanon is at the brink. The people of Lebanon – the people of Israel – and the people of the world – cannot afford Lebanon to become another Gaza.”
Lebanon may have already moved over the brink. Israeli strikes on Lebanon on 23 September killed at least 356 people and injured more than 1, 200 others. Hezbollah deputy chief, Naim Qasseù has just said “We have entered a new phase – an open-ended battle of reckoning.”
A rapid escalation in recent days, starting with the attack on Hezbollah members via booby-trapped pagers and walkie-talkies followed by Israeli bombardments has raised the specter of a new phase in the conflict with a possible ground invasion by Israeli troops as in 1982 and 2006. There are fears that Iran could be drawn into the fighting. The new Iranian President, Masoud Pezeshian speaking at the U.N. General Assembly also on 24 September, demanded a global response to the Lebanon situation – “not to allow Lebanon to become another Gaza.”
Hezbollah is supported by Iran but not fully under Iranian control. Nassan Nasrallah, the Secretary-General of Hezbollah has in recent days made widely watched television talks attacking Israeli politics and indicating continuing Hezbollah support for the Palestinians in Gaza saying that a ceasefire in Gaza was necessary before any negotiations with Hezbollah could take place. Since negotiations for a ceasefire in Gaza seem unlikely for the moment, Hezbollah’s current is likely to continue. In addition, recent tensions in the West Bank between Israeli settlers, Israeli soldiers and Palestinians in settled villages have added more heat to the general tensions in the area.
The issue is what can be done now to prevent escalation and reduce tensions. A first step is to stress respect for international humanitarian law. Hospitals, medical facilities, educational institutions have been destroyed in the exchanges of fire. There is a need for resolute action on the violations of humanitarian law. Regular military personnel of all countries are theoretically informed of the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949 and the Protocol Additional adopted in 1977 in light of the experiences of the war in Vietnam. Today, international human rights standards are also considered part of international humanitarian law, thus providing additional protection for vulnerable population groups such as women, children and minorities.
A possible second phase is the “good offices” function of the U.N. Secretary-General. It is certain that the U.N. Secretariat is concerned, but their ability for action may be very limited.
It is not clear what governments at the U.N. can do. The Security Council has been blocked on many issues by the veto. The resolutions of the General Assembly are “recommendations ” with little follow up in practice.
A 21-day ceasefire proposal has just been set out at the U.N. by France and the U.S.A.
There may be some role for non-official mediation carried out by groups representing religious, academic, or charitable organizations. One advantage of non-official mediation is that all concerned are aware that such mediation is genuinely impartial seeking only a reduction of suffering caused by the conflicts. The disadvantage is that non-official mediators lack the resources, political, economic or military on which governmental mediators can draw.
It is certain that strong measures are needed to prevent escalation. Vision and creativity are important factors. The role of non-governmental organizations in consultative status with the U.N. may be able to play a role in these dangerous times.
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René Wadlow is a member of the TRANSCEND Network for Peace Development Environment. He is President of the Association of World Citizens, an international peace organization with consultative status with ECOSOC, the United Nations organ facilitating international cooperation and problem-solving in economic and social issues, and editor of Transnational Perspectives.
Tags: Hezbollah, Israel, Middle East, United Nations, Violent conflict, Warfare
This article originally appeared on Transcend Media Service (TMS) on 30 Sep 2024.
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