BEIRUT, 26 July. - (ANA) - Lebanese President Joseph Aoun has proposed the creation of a European force to replace the UN peacekeeping mission in southern Lebanon if the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) is unable to remain after its mandate expires at the end of 2026.

 

Speaking on Friday during a meeting with European Union Ambassador to Lebanon Sandra De Waele and a delegation of European diplomats, Aoun said Lebanon continued to regard UNIFIL as "the best option in the coming period" for monitoring the security situation along the border with Israel.

 

"If this proves impossible because of the procedures required through the UN Security Council to maintain the force, then an alternative force could be established to replace it," Aoun said.

 

He said such a force would help the Lebanese army "clear southern areas, remove unexploded ordnance and accompany the implementation phase of the Framework Formula" agreed with Israel, calling on EU member states to support its implementation.

 

The proposal comes as UNIFIL, which has operated in southern Lebanon since 1978, prepares for a planned withdrawal after the UN Security Council last year extended its mandate for what was described as a final time until the end of 2026, alongside a gradual drawdown.

 

Aoun also urged European countries to back implementation of the US-brokered framework agreement with Israel and to prevent what he described as Israeli obstruction of the deal.

 

He said this represented "the only path to achieving peace and stability in the south in particular, and Lebanon more generally".

 

The Lebanese president said the first phase of the agreement, centred on pilot areas in southern Lebanon, should eventually be expanded to additional locations to allow the state to reassert sovereignty across the country.

 

The first such zone began operating this week in the town of Zawtar al-Gharbiya in Nabatieh governorate.

 

Aoun also stressed Lebanon's commitment to the framework agreement signed with Israel on 26 June, particularly its security and reconstruction provisions.

 

He said reconstruction and the political process should proceed together, exclusively through the Lebanese state, while "creating alternatives for our people in the south, especially for our people from the Shia community".

 

The Lebanese leader also described his meeting with US President Donald Trump at the White House on Tuesday as "productive", saying discussions had focused on implementing the framework agreement, Israel's withdrawal and the deployment of the Lebanese army into areas vacated by Israeli forces under the pilot-zone arrangement.

 

Addressing Lebanon's domestic agenda, Aoun said the country remained committed to reforms as "a domestic necessity, not something intended to satisfy anyone or undertaken at the request of any country".

 

He added that "Lebanon's stability is reflected in the stability of the countries of the region", arguing that "the time has come to end the war once and for all" in order to encourage economic growth and attract domestic and foreign investment.

 

For her part, EU Ambassador Sandra De Waele said Lebanon stood "at a crossroads and at the beginning of a new chapter", adding that the bloc supported the country "on the path of security, stability and reform".

 

She said Lebanon required "two pillars" to move towards "a brighter future": "security and stability on the one hand, and financial and institutional reforms on the other".

 

"We are here to support you on this path, but Lebanon can also support itself by implementing the right reforms at this crucial moment," she added.

 

The idea of replacing UNIFIL with a European mission has previously been raised by German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul, who earlier this month suggested the EU should examine whether it could prevent a security vacuum after the UN force's departure.  - (ANA) -

 

AB/ANA/26 July 2026 - - -