International peacekeepers set for Lebanese borders<\/p>\n
BEIRUT (AP): Lebanon said on Wednesday -- for the first time
\n-- that it will accept international peacekeepers in areas to be
\nvacated by Israeli forces in southern Lebanon, a move that could
\nhelp prevent attacks by Lebanese guerrillas.<\/p>\n
In a statement, Prime Minister Salim Hoss welcomed Israel's
\nplanned withdrawal as \"a radical turning point for Lebanon,\" and
\nsaid that the power vacuum created by the pullout will be filled
\nby an \"international force,\" a clear reference to United Nations
\npeacekeepers.<\/p>\n
The statement was the first official Lebanese reaction since
\nIsrael formally notified the United Nations last week that it was
\npulling its army out of Lebanon by July, ending nearly two
\ndecades of occupation.<\/p>\n
Lebanon has previously expressed fears that an Israeli
\nwithdrawal could lead to violence along the border in the absence
\nof an overall Middle East peace settlement. It also had refused
\nto say whether it will allow UN forces or its own army to fan out
\nalong the border region that is to be evacuated by Israel.<\/p>\n
But in Wednesday's statement, Hoss said: \"We have to remind
\nourselves that the Israeli withdrawal will not lead to a vacuum
\nthreatening security and stability as some pessimists like to
\nportray.\"<\/p>\n
\"We should not forget that the situation in the areas to be
\nvacated by Israel will be protected by the international force\"
\nunder UN resolutions 425 and 426.<\/p>\n
It was the first time Lebanon has acknowledged, if indirectly,
\nthat it will agree to UN forces being deployed in the area.
\nIt was feared that a power vacuum created by the Israeli
\nwithdrawal would encourage Lebanese guerrillas to move close to
\nthe border and attack Israel. The guerrillas are fighting on an
\nalmost daily basis to oust the 1,500 Israeli troops and their
\n2,500 allied militiamen in the occupied area. Israel has warned
\nthat guerrilla attacks after its withdrawal would invite harsh
\nretaliation.<\/p>\n
But a deployment of the 4,500-member UN peacekeeping force
\nalready available in southern Lebanon is likely to keep a lid on
\ntensions.<\/p>\n
UN resolutions 425 and 426 of 1978 call on Israel to withdraw
\nto the international border and for the UN Interim Force in
\nLebanon to deploy in the vacated areas to oversee the pullout and
\nhelp the Lebanese government restore its authority.<\/p>\n
However, implementation of the resolutions, including the UN
\npeacekeepers' deployment, requires the consent of both Israel and
\nLebanon -- which has not explicitly occurred.<\/p>\n
Israel first invaded Lebanon in 1978 and again in 1982 when it
\noccupied large parts of the country, including the capital,
\nBeirut. It began withdrawing south but created a border security
\nzone in the south -- 10 percent of Lebanese territory -- in 1985.
\nIsrael said the border zone was necessary to protect its northern
\ncommunities from cross-border guerrilla raids. But after
\ncasualties from Lebanese guerrilla attacks, Israel decided to
\naccept the UN withdrawal resolutions last year.<\/p>\n
Lebanon, which for years called for unconditional Israeli
\nwithdrawal, had expressed misgivings recently about Israel's
\nplanned pullout without a peace settlement involving Lebanon and
\nSyria, the main power broker in Lebanon. Syrian-Israeli peace
\ntalks have been stalled since January, making a peace settlement
\nunlikely.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/international-peacekeepers-set-for-lebanese-borders-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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