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Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon is expected by the end of the month. (AP file)
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| By Associated Press September 28, 2006 |
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Several disagreements regarding the deployment of Lebanese and U.N. forces in southern Lebanon have delayed a final Israeli troop withdrawal from that country, Israeli military officials said Thursday.
But the problems were expected to be quickly worked out in ongoing security talks, and Israeli and U.N. officials said they hoped for a full Israeli pullout next week.
The unresolved issues involved security arrangements for an Arab village that straddles the border, and the coordination between U.N. war rooms that will be set up on each side of the border with each country's army, the military officials said on condition of anonymity, since they were not authorized to talk to the press.
The Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon is a key component of a cease-fire that took effect Aug. 14, ending 34 days of fighting between Israel and the Hezbollah militia based in southern Lebanon.
The truce is outlined in U.N. Security Council Resolution 1701, which calls for an international force of 15,000 troops to join 15,000 Lebanese soldiers in patrolling southern Lebanon to prevent a further outbreak of violence.
Alexander Ivanko, a spokesman for the U.N. force known as UNIFIL, denied reports of a disagreement between Israeli and U.N. officers over the international force.
Israeli officials said earlier this week that UNIFIL had refused in pre-withdrawal talks to commit to Israel's demand that the U.N. forces stop or disarm any Hezbollah militants who approach the border. UNIFIL has said the Lebanese army was responsible for any efforts to disarm Hezbollah -- and its job is merely to assist the Lebanese army in that.
Ivanko said Thursday that the United Nations expected the Israeli withdrawal to be completed by the end of the month.
"That is the force commander's understanding and we are working very actively on ensuring that that happens," he said.
Other Israeli military officials, speaking privately, said that only minor details still need to be worked out in the talks, but it would be difficult for Israel to complete the withdrawal by the Jewish holy day Yom Kippur, or Day of Atonement, which begins sundown Sunday, Oct. 1.
At the height of the fighting, Israel had as many as 30,000 troops in Lebanon, but has pulled most of them out since then cease-fire and withdrawn to the border area. The army declined to say how many troops remained, but the number was reported at several thousand.
Israeli army chief Lt. Gen. Dan Halutz said Wednesday that Israel was still trying to iron out the last details on the deployment of Lebanese and U.N. forces before pulling its last troops out of south Lebanon.
"We haven't completed negotiations," Halutz told an Israeli Cabinet meeting Wednesday. "We are delaying the transfer of territory until the understandings are worked out."
But Halutz said the final details should be concluded "in a day or two."
Halutz also warned that Hezbollah would not be allowed to use surveillance equipment near the border.
"Any military equipment that will be in the hands of Hezbollah, including intelligence gathering equipment, is from Israel's perspective a violation of the agreement," Halutz told the ministers, according to a participant in the meeting.
Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Mark Regev said Thursday that Israel would withdraw as soon as the U.N. and Lebanese forces "fulfill their commitments."
"We have no interest in staying in Lebanon," Regev said.
Israel was primarily concerned about the enforcement of two clauses in Resolution 1701: The international arms embargo on Hezbollah and the ban on the group's armed presence in south Lebanon, Regev said.
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