U.N. Tells Israel its Ideas For Securing Divided Village
A U.N. envoy on Thursday presented Israel with proposals for ensuring the security of residents of divided Ghajar village on the Israeli-Lebanese border in the event of an Israeli pullback.
Alain Le Roy, U.N. under secretary-general for peacekeeping affairs, spelled out the ideas to deputy foreign minister Danny Ayalon, a ministry spokeswoman said.
No details of the proposals were revealed but Ayalon said he expects the Israeli cabinet to discuss them.
Last year the U.N. Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) submitted plans to facilitate Israel”s withdrawal from the northern part of Ghajar.
Removing Israeli troops from the Lebanese half of the village is a requirement of U.N. Security Council resolution 1701, which brought an end to the 2006 war in Lebanon.
But the resolution also calls for the disarmament of the Lebanese Hizbullah faction and Israel has claimed that a lack of progress in collecting weapons makes a withdrawal impossible.
Israeli media has reported that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will soon announce plans to evacuate troops from northern Ghajar, but Ayalon was careful to point out that disarmament remains Israel”s top priority.
"We expect greater decisive action to disarm Hizbullah and to prevent it from rearming and collecting weapons," he said.