Politics
Israel's long animosity toward U.N. playing out in Lebanon
The United Nations was instrumental in the creation and recognition of the state of Israel some seventy-six years ago.
But virtually ever since, animosity between the preeminent global body and the tiny Middle Eastern country has steadily grown, escalating now as U.N. forces have been drawn into Israel’s attacks in southern Lebanon.
At least four members of the 50-nation U.N. peacekeeping force, known as UNIFIL, assigned to Lebanon in 1978 to monitor the border with Israel, were injured in recent days by Israeli fire.
Israel says it was targeting the Iran-backed Hezbollah militant and political faction.
But one incident involved Israeli tanks crashing through a gate at the UNIFIL compound in southern Lebanon, leaving numerous peacekeepers injured.
In another, Israeli fire generated a toxic smoke that sickened scores of peacekeepers, the U.N. said.
The Biden administration angrily condemned the actions harming U.N. forces. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was unapologetic, saying peacekeepers should evacuate the region, essentially abandoning their U.N.-mandated mission.
That dispute comes amid other points of escalation in the multiple conflicts Israel is battling.
Four Israeli soldiers were killed late Sunday, and many more wounded, at an army training base in northern Israel. Hezbollah claimed responsibility for one of the deadliest domestic attacks ever on Israeli military personnel. It involved a Hezbollah drone that managed to evade Israel’s vaunted air-defense system and plow into a mess hall at the base.
“We need to investigate it, learn the details and quickly and effectively implement the lessons [learned],” Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said Monday after visiting the site.
The drone strike followed a Pentagon announcement that it was sending Israel an additional, sophisticated air defense system to help protect the country from further ballistic missile attacks by Iran.
Around 100 U.S. troops will also be deployed to help operate the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense battery. It marked the first significant assignment of U.S. military personnel to Israeli territory since war broke out in the Gaza Strip a year ago and is now spilling over into Lebanon.
Early Monday in Gaza, Israel shelled a camp sheltering about 5,000 Palestinians outside a hospital, killing at least four and burning dozens more whose tents went up in flames, Palestinian officials said. Israel said it was targeting a Hamas “command center.” Hours earlier, Israel struck a nearby U.N.-run school, in the Nuseirat camp, that had also been converted into a shelter. At least 20 people were reported killed.
The latest offensive in Gaza constituted “an endless hell,” Philippe Lazzarini, head of the U.N. agency responsible for Palestinian refugees, said on the social network X.
At least 42,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza over the last year, Gaza officials say.
The U.N. refugee agency, known by its initials UNRWA, is another major point of contention between Israel and the 193-nation international New York-based organization.
More than 12,000 UNRWA employees have for years worked as a critical lifeline in the Gaza Strip, providing healthcare, running schools and operating food banks for Palestinians living in what they describe as a veritable open-air prison.
A small number of UNRWA workers were implicated in the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack on southern Israel that Israel says killed some 1,200 people. The U.N. said it fired those employees who participated in the attack.
Israel has sought to ban UNRWA from Gaza, and last week Israel announced it was confiscating UNRWA’s headquarters in East Jerusalem, with the aim of building more than 1,400 settlements, which are considered illegal under international law. Washington and a handful of other Western nations suspended aid to UNRWA last year, but most of it has been restored.
Israel’s fights over UNIFIL and UNRWA are only the latest in a long-running relationship of hostility with the U.N.
Israel’s former ambassador to the U.N., Gilad Erdan, told a small group of journalists earlier this year that the initial goodwill and appreciation that the fledgling Israeli state felt toward the U.N. in 1948 faded in the ensuing years. The U.N. expanded beyond its initial coterie of mostly Western states to include dozens of countries, including in the Arab and Muslim world, that did not recognize Israel.
Most reject Israel’s continued occupation of land claimed by Palestinians.
The U.N. routinely condemns Israel in an assortment of resolutions. But any resolution that might have concrete impact on Israel is usually vetoed by the U.S.
Now, with the controversy centered on UNIFIL, Israel accuses the peacekeeping force of having been ineffective in preventing violence on the Lebanese-Israeli border and of failing to stop Hezbollah from building up a formidable military presence in southern Lebanon, in violation of U.N. decisions.
Israel’s current ambassador to the U.N., Danny Danon, accused Hezbollah of using UNIFIL positions as hiding places, and said the peacekeepers’ refusal to leave the region is “incomprehensible.”
“The U.N. must stop turning a blind eye to the fact that Hezbollah is a terrorist organization holding Lebanon hostage,” Danon said Monday.
The UNIFIL troops who number some 10,000 say, however, they will continue to carry out what they see as their duty under U.N. mandates.
After the end of the last major war between Israel and Hezbollah in 2006, a wary truce was in effect in southern Lebanon. UNIFIL’s white armored vehicles, trucks and blue-helmeted personnel became a regular sight in towns and villages along the Lebanese side of the 74-mile “Blue Line,” the de facto border between the two countries.
Its maritime arm dispatched frigates and corvettes to patrol the coastal waters with little event. UNIFIL’s main job then was to coordinate troop movements on either side of the border, whether for security or maintenance purposes, and work on de-confliction. Though it had no direct dealings with Hezbollah, it nevertheless established contacts via the Lebanese army.
That changed when Hezbollah launched its cross-border rocket campaign the day after Hamas attacked southern Israel. Virtually overnight, what had been a relatively peaceful posting turned into an arena for an escalating tit-for-tat fight — with the U.N. caught in the middle.
“This is my third and worst tour here,” said Lt. Col. Bruno Vio, a UNIFIL press officer, during a visit to the area with UNIFIL over the summer. “The villages I knew from the past visits, now they’re empty; all the people gone.”
That was before Israel invaded Lebanon and ramped up airstrikes there in mid-September. At that point, rotations had been shortened from three months to 45 days because of the high risk. As of now, patrols have been suspended altogether, with troops hunkered in their compounds.
Times staff writer Bulos reported from Beirut and southern Lebanon; Wilkinson from Washington.
new video loaded: Jan. 6 Rioter Hired by Pentagon
transcript
transcript
Jan. 6 Rioter Hired by Pentagon
Elias Irizarry, who pleaded guilty to climbing through a broken window at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, now works for an office responsible for uncovering and defending against terrorism plots at the Pentagon.
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“Full pardon or commutation?” “Full pardon.”
By Alisa Shodiyev Kaff
June 4, 2026
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Democrats splintered over a resolution seeking to block the U.S. from assisting Israel’s war against Hezbollah, an Iranian-backed terrorist group, on Thursday.
The measure, offered by progressive Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., would require President Donald Trump to withdraw U.S. forces from Lebanon. For months, Israel and Hezbollah, a U.S.-designated terrorist group and Iranian proxy, have been at war in southern Lebanon, but the United States has not joined the conflict.
A bipartisan coalition of lawmakers, including House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., rejected the measure. Critics argued the resolution could aid Hezbollah and potentially hamstring U.S. military operations in the country.
Tlaib’s resolution failed 92-324, with more than half of House Democrats joining nearly all Republicans to vote it down.
The Lebanon war powers resolution divided Democrats, with House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., joining Republicans in rejecting the measure. (Aaron Schwartz/Bloomberg)
REP RASHIDA TLAIB MOVES TO BLOCK US OPERATIONS IN LEBANON BUT IGNORES HEZBOLLAH
Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., an Israel critic, was the lone Republican to support Tlaib’s measure. Meanwhile, Reps. Derek Tran, D-Calif., and Betty McCollum, D-Minn., voted present.
House Democratic leaders said shortly before the vote they would oppose Tlaib’s resolution and work with the progressive lawmaker on a narrower measure exempting some U.S. military operations in the country. Their statement also denounced Hezbollah as a “violent terrorist organization” and a “sworn enemy of the United States.”
Tlaib, who has accused Israel of committing “ethnic cleansing” in Lebanon, did not mention Hezbollah in her resolution. She and other proponents of the measure also avoided discussing the Iranian proxy force during heated floor debate over the measure.
Republicans highlighted the omission and accused the legislation’s supporters of serving as “proxies for Hezbollah.”
“Apparently they don’t want to see Israel killing Hezbollah, even though it’s Hezbollah that is killing Israeli children, Israeli adults, Israeli elders,” House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Brian Mast, R-Fla., said Wednesday, referring to his Democratic colleagues.
Tlaib asserted that her resolution would only affect U.S. forces actively engaged in hostilities. Republicans, however, disputed that claim and suggested it would hurt U.S. efforts to counter Hezbollah.
“It doesn’t say anything about [whether] you can keep the Marines that are in the embassy,” Mast said, referring to the U.S. embassy in Beirut. “That’s a pretty big oversight. It doesn’t say anything about whether we can keep United States armed forces that are training missions with the LAF [Lebanese Armed Forces]. Again, pretty big oversight.”
Rep. Rashida Tlaib, a Democrat from Michigan, attempted to bar U.S. forces from joining Israel’s war in Lebanon. (Tierney L. Cross/Bloomberg)
RASHIDA TLAIB HIT WITH HOUSE CENSURE THREAT, ACCUSED OF ‘CELEBRATING TERRORISM’ IN PRO-PALESTINIAN SPEECH
The debate turned personal when Rep. Max Miller, R-Ohio, a member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, linked Tlaib to Hezbollah.
“Hezbollah is a terrorist organization … and its members are butchers that you like to hang out with to a certain extent,” the Ohio lawmaker said, referring to Tlaib.
A shouting match between the two then broke out, with Tlaib demanding that Miller’s remarks be stricken from the record.
The presiding chair ultimately complied with her request, but Miller doubled down on his remarks.
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“Yes, I said it. I own it, and I stand by it,” Mast said on behalf of Miller on the floor.
Tlaib’s failed war powers resolution comes as Iran has sought to tie Israel’s invasion of Lebanon to its ceasefire negotiations with the United States.
Hezbollah, which has long helped Iran project power in the region, rejected a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Lebanon’s government Thursday.
WASHINGTON — Initial efforts in the Senate failed Thursday to block the $1.8-billion fund that the Trump administration has sought to establish to pay people who claim the government wronged them, though further attempts were likely to come Thursday afternoon.
Republicans narrowly voted down a Democratic amendment to ban the payout fund and then Democrats killed a Republican amendment, which would have prohibited the use of federal money for the fund but would have sent $1.7 billion to the Justice Department’s fraud division.
It was the second effort in Congress to rebuke President Trump in two days, following the House vote Wednesday to rein in Trump’s war powers in Iran.
The dueling amendments were proposed by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.). They were attached to the reconciliation bill that would fund Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Border Patrol, a high priority for Republicans.
The votes came as the Senate began a “vote-a-rama,” during which lawmakers were expected to propose a stream of amendments to the immigration bill on various topics.
The Trump administration’s plan for the payment fund — widely seen as a way for Trump to compensate his political allies, including those who participated in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol — set off particular ire from some GOP lawmakers.
The plan has fueled growing unrest within parts of Trump’s party over his governance, compounded by the president’s endorsement of primary challengers to Sens. John Cornyn (R-Texas) and Bill Cassidy (R-La.), as well as Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.), which angered some Republican senators.
Cassidy, who lost his primary and has since voiced strong opposition to Trump’s $1.8-billion fund, became a key player in the Thursday votes, voting down Schumer’s amendment but supporting Tillis’.
On Wednesday, Cassidy joined with Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) to argue in a court filing that the $1.8-billion fund circumvents Congress’ authority and violates the Constitution’s spending and appropriations clauses.
“It is an unconstitutional attempt to spend the People’s money without Congressional approval,” Cassidy and Booker wrote in an amicus brief filed in the federal court case challenging the fund.
The fund was created by the Justice Department to settle a lawsuit brought by Trump against the Internal Revenue Service over the leak of his tax returns. Trump and his sons agreed to drop their personal lawsuit against the government in exchange for the creation of the $1.776-billion fund. Critics immediately questioned the plan, and it drew a rare backlash from Republicans.
In late May, GOP senators derailed plans to vote on the immigration bill over their displeasure with the payout fund and with Trump’s desire to use taxpayer funds for his planned White House ballroom. Senate Republicans removed the ballroom funding from the immigration package Wednesday, another setback for Trump.
The Trump administration sought to back away from its plans for the fund this week, following bipartisan outcry and a federal court ruling that temporarily blocked any payouts from the fund. Acting Atty. Gen. Todd Blanche said Tuesday the administration would end its plans to move ahead with the concept.
But Trump on Wednesday told reporters he didn’t know whether the fund was dead, calling it “a beautiful thing.”
After Schumer proposed the first amendment to ban the fund Thursday morning, the Senate came to a standstill as three key Republican senators deliberated. Schumer framed his effort to ban the fund Thursday as a way to force a referendum on Trump’s plan.
The amendment “offers Republicans a choice: Do you support Donald Trump’s $2 billion taxpayer-funded slush fund, or do you want to protect the American people and their paychecks?” Schumer said on the Senate floor before the vote.
Sen. Bernie Moreno (R-Ohio) urged Republicans to reject the amendment, saying Democrats were planning to “play so many games” on Thursday during the marathon session.
“We are going to fund immigration enforcement and border patrol, and I urge my Republican colleagues to stay united on that singular mission,” Moreno said.
The amendment failed after Cassidy voted against it. Republican Sens. Susan Collins of Maine, Jon Husted of Ohio and Dan Sullivan of Alaska voted in favor.
Schumer’s amendment was uniformly supported by Democrats, including California Sens. Adam Schiff and Alex Padilla.
Tillis, who also voted against Schumer’s amendment, immediately proposed his amendment. Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Oregon) urged Democrats to oppose it, saying that the proposal would create “a new slush fund” by giving the money to the Justice Department.
“We heard over the last 48 hours that the acting attorney general said that this fund’s not moving forward. All this amendment does is codify what I believe the policy of the DOJ is,” Tillis said on the floor before voting began on his amendment. “This [fund] is unpopular, this administration has said they’re not moving forward with it; this is an opportunity for us to put it to bed.”
Responded Merkley: “Taking one slush fund and eliminating it and then creating a new slush fund still under control of the attorney general is not the way to go. The way to go is to get rid of these slush funds altogether.”
Trump has faced a recent string of failures, including the House vote Wednesday, a court ruling to remove his name from the Kennedy Center and a record-low approval rating among Americans as concern rises about economic issues, gas prices and Trump’s war with Iran.
On Wednesday, Trump lashed out against the four Republicans who backed the House war powers resolution, calling it “an unpatriotic thing” to do and calling the vote “meaningless.”
“They’re GRANDSTANDERS! They should be ashamed of themselves. MAGA!!! President DJT,” Trump wrote.
Times staff writer Ana Ceballos, in Washington, contributed to this report.
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