Italian President Georgio Napolitano visited Italian peacekeepers in southern Lebanon on 3 November, saying they were needed to fight terrorism and promote peace. The primary job of the armed forces is to preserve peace and combat widespread international subversion, starting with terrorism, he said. Italy has 2,600 peacekeepers serving with a mission supervising a fragile peace along the border between Lebanon and Israel. After the July 2006 war between Lebanon and Israel, Italy joined other European countries that promoted the mission. Napolitano, who arrived on 2 November in Lebanon, held talks with his Lebanese counterpart Michel Suleiman. On 20 October, the Spanish government downplayed alleged disagreements with Israel on the command of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL). Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak had told Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos that it was not up to Israel to decide which country held the command, Deputy Prime Minister Maria Teresa Fernandez de la Vega said. Vega was commenting on reports that Israel wanted Italy to retain command of the 12,000-strong UNIFIL longer than planned, instead of handing it over to Spain. Israel was very satisfied that Italy would cede the command to Spain in early 2010, Vega quoted Barak as telling Moratinos, after the Israeli defence minister cancelled a visit to Spain this week.