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Israeli soldiers react as they ride on top of an armored vehicle after crossing the border from southern Lebanon into northern Israel, early Sunday. (AP)
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| By Israel Insider staff and partners October 1, 2006 |
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Israel withdrew the last of its troops from Lebanon early Sunday, the army said, fulfilling a key condition of the U.N. cease-fire that ended a monthlong war with Hezbollah guerrillas.
The pullout ended a nearly three-month troop presence in Lebanon and cleared the way for the full deployment of an international peacekeeping force that will police the border with the Lebanese army. Israel sent its troops into Lebanon shortly after Hezbollah, a powerful militia backed by Iran and Syria, abducted two Israeli soldiers and killed three others in a July 12 cross-border raid.
The Israeli army "is now redeployed on our international border," government spokewoman Miri Eisin said after the pullout was completed. "We are now waiting for the Lebanese government to fulfill their part" under the truce agreement -- namely, to keep Hezbollah out of southern Lebanon and disarm it, she said.
Officials said Israel reinforced its military presence along the Lebanese border and would continue to conduct surveillance flights over Lebanon.
Israel has been gradually withdrawing troops since the cease-fire went into effect, from a peak of 30,000 during the fighting to several hundred soldiers. The final pullout was swift, taking just hours to complete.
Military officials said the last soldier exited Lebanon just after 2:30 a.m., ahead of the onset of Yom Kippur, the holiest day on the Jewish calendar, at sundown.
In the last few days, the IDF has reduced the number of soldiers stationed over the border. By Saturday night, barely 200 remained.
Under the cover of darkness, the roar of Israeli tanks and armored vehicles could be heard moving across the Lebanese side of the border during the operation.
An armored column creaked across the border at the Israeli border community of Moshav Avivim, leaving tread marks in the soil and sending a large cloud of dust into the air that was illuminated by the vehicle's headlights. Later, the last soldiers were seen boarding a bus at nearby Moshav Zarit.
Israel has been reluctant to withdraw the last of its troops, citing disagreements over the deployment of Lebanese and UN forces. The truce agreement calls for 15,000 peacekeepers to work with an equal number of Lebanese soldiers in southern Lebanon, long a stronghold of the Shiite Muslim Hezbollah, to prevent another outbreak of fighting. It also requires that the south be kept weapons-free, except for arms authorized by the Lebanese government.
Some 10,000 Lebanese soldiers and more than 5,000 U.N. troops have already been deployed.
The cease-fire also mandates a full Israeli pullout and requires southern Lebanon to be kept weapons-free except for arms approved by the Lebanese government.
David Baker, an official in the Prime Minister's Office, told Haaretz, "Israel has totally fulfilled its obligations. The Lebanese government must keep the agreement, especially the facilitating of the immediate release of the kidnapped Israeli soldiers."
U.N. peacekeepers deployed in southern Lebanon were expected to send patrols Sunday to verify the Israeli withdrawal.
An unspecified number of soldiers remained in the Lebanese section of the divided border town of Ghajar. Military chief Lt. Gen. Dan Halutz told Israel Radio on Sunday that he hoped the alignment of forces there would be settled within the next few days.
If Hezbollah returns to the south and begins rebuilding its infrastructure, "We will act against it," Halutz said, but wouldn't elaborate.
The AP contributed to this report.
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