UNIFIL denies reports of imminent Israeli pullout from Ghajar
But force “has presented a proposal”
A new round of media speculation on a possible Israeli withdrawal from the village of Ghajar surfaced Wednesday, with local media outlets reporting that Israel could withdraw from the town”s northern section in the coming days. UN officials in Lebanon would not corroborate the reports.
The reports said that Israeli officials have unofficially notified the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) – whose duties include patrolling the UN-drawn Blue Line that serves as a de facto Lebanese-Israeli border – that they should be prepared to step in after an Israeli withdrawal, likely in the next few days.
But UNIFIL spokeswoman Yasmina Bouziane cautioned against continued speculation, saying, "That”s a media report."
There has been a wide array of media speculation this fall about a potential Israeli withdrawal from the northern half of the small and increasingly symbolic southern town, but substantive on-the-ground actions have yet to take place.
The prospect has, nevertheless, been floated regularly in recent months and at high diplomatic levels.
In late October, the UNIFIL commander, Major General Claudio Graziano, met with Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak, and the status of Ghajar was said to have been prominent in their discussions.
Bouziane confirmed that efforts to facilitate an Israeli withdrawal and transfer of authority to UNIFIL were under way. "UNIFIL has presented a proposal in hope that the two parties will come to an agreement," she said, adding that "the initial reaction to the proposal is a positive one."
But she said, referring to the UN”s mediation efforts, "We don”t discuss the details."
Timor Goksel, a former longtime UNIFIL spokesman, said that a deal appears to be in the works. "I”ve been hearing there will be a solution by the end of this month," he said.
He added that under a UN-brokered deal, UNIFIL would be responsible for the northern side of Ghajar, with the Lebanese Army guarding the perimeter.
Ghajar sits at the foot Mount Hermon, divided between Lebanon and Syria”s Golan Heights, also occupied by Israel. The Blue Line, demarcated during the Israeli withdrawal from most of South Lebanon in 2000, cuts the town in half. Since the summer 2006 war, Israel has reoccupied the city”s northern section.
The Israeli occupation of Ghajar counts as a violation of UN Security Council Resolution 1701, which brought an end to hostilities in the summer 2006 war. Regular Israeli violations of Lebanese airspace and the rearmament of Hizbullah are also regularly cited as breaches of the resolution.
Under 1701, UNIFIL, whose mandate dates back to Israel”s 1978 invasion, beefed up its presence to 13,000 troops operating south of the Litani River. Those forces will be expected to provide security for the divided village if Israel withdraws.
The ongoing Israeli occupation of the predominantly Alawite village remains a sore point for the Lebanese government and a rallying cry for opposition-aligned Hizbullah.
But last month, Ynetnews, the English language website of Israel”s most read newspaper, Yediot Ahronot, reported that members of Ghajar”s town council had sent a letter to the UN special coordinator to Lebanon, Michael Williams, voicing concern about a potential partition.
"Ghajar residents fear that that handing over the northern part of their village to UNIFIL would separate families and further burden their day-to-day lives," the news site said.
The letter was reportedly passed on to Graziano.