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UN Security Council at Odds over Peacekeeping Operation in Lebanon
(AP-Washington Post) Edith M. Lederer - The U.S. is backing Israel's demands for major changes in the way the UN peacekeeping mission in southern Lebanon operates on the ground. At a closed Security Council meeting Tuesday, U.S. Ambassador Kelly Craft stressed the need for a new mandate for the mission known as UNIFIL. "The U.S. has long reiterated publicly and privately that the status quo in Lebanon is unacceptable. Now is the time to empower UNIFIL." Israel insists that peacekeepers have access to all sites, that they have freedom of movement, and that any time they are being blocked the Security Council must be immediately informed.