At the request of the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF), UNIFIL peacekeepers joined LAF soldiers in providing security for farmers accessing land near the Blue Line to harvest this season’s olives.
Throughout October, peacekeepers conducted more than 40 missions with the LAF, ensuring olive harvests in safe and secure environment. The areas covered included several sensitive areas close to the Blue Line from east to west, including the villages of Kfar Shouba, Kfar Kila, Khiam, Wazzani, Meiss ej-Jabal, Blida, Houla, Rmeich, Marwahin, Ramyah and Aita al-Shaab. Throughout these missions, UNIFIL also used its liaison channels coordinating with the Israel Defense Forces ahead of each of these missions.
UNIFIL Chief of Staff Major General Paul Sanzey said, through these missions, UNIFIL helped prevent incidents and reduced the risk of violence.
“This year’s harvest holds particular significance, as olive picking in several areas in South Lebanon had not been possible since 2022 due to hostilities,” said Major General Paul Sanzey. “The deployment of the Lebanese Army along the Blue Line is essential to restoring safe access and supporting local livelihoods.”
UNIFIL Spokesperson Kandice Ardiel participated in one of the recent joint missions in Kfar Shouba, where peacekeepers and LAF personnel provided security for farmers picking olives about 600 metres from the Blue Line.
“We did see some strikes in this area during the war so peacekeepers and of course the local authorities and the Lebanese army want to make sure that the farmers who are doing their work are as safe as possible,” said Ms. Ardiel. “It's about livelihoods and it's about people coming back and returning to a normal life, and this is what peacekeepers are here trying to support.”
One of the famers collecting the harvest shared her experience: “Before the war, we used to produce 60 or 70 drums of oil, but during the war, two years passed without working on our land… when the Lebanese Army and UNIFIL allowed people to come and tend to their lands, we came before it rained to gather our livelihood.”