Last update - 00:00 03/09/2006
IDF prepares to leave Lebanon in 10-14 days
By Amos Harel, Haaretz Correspondent and News Agencies
The Israel Defense Forces could withdraw all troops from Lebanon in a period of 10 days to two weeks if the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon continues to deploy at the present rate, security forces told Haaretz over the weekend.
Meanwhile, the bolstered peacekeeping force in Lebanon began taking shape on Saturday as 1,000 soldiers started moving in - the first large contingent of international troops dispatched to help safeguard a cease-fire between Israel and Hezbollah.
The Italian advanced forces, which landed in Tyre in helicopters and rubber boats, are meant to protect the Italian navy ships docking on Sunday.
With Israel apparently racing to destroy Hezbollah arms caches in the territory it occupies ahead of an impending withdrawal, the UN force commander said the truce was still "fragile" and warned any incident could quickly escalate.
The IDF is expected first to withdraw to the ridge one to two kilometers north of the Israeli-Lebanese border, followed by redeployment along the border itself, although the two stages may be combined and the timetable sped up.
"We want to complete the withdrawal as quickly as possible. No one wants to stay in Lebanon more than necessary," a source said.
The completion of the withdrawal from Lebanon will allow the reserve battalions currently serving in the West Bank on emergency orders to be demobilized and replaced by regular troops. The army is gradually thinning out its troops, having already withdrawn those posted deep inside Lebanese territory. At present a force equal to two brigades is now in Lebanon. A large number of the troops are there to make sweeps and are not manning permanent positions.
Troops sweeping the village of Aita al-Shaab in the western sector Friday uncovered and demolished a Hezbollah bunker containing numerous weapons and ordinance.
Military sources said they were satisfied with the rate of deployment of the international force and the serious attitude of its commanders.
There have been weeks of delay in deploying peacekeepers since the cease-fire began August 14, in part because it took time to hammer out details over the troops' mandate and convince countries hesitant to offer troops for what was seen as a potentially risky mission: getting between the bitter enemies, Israel and Hezbollah.
The full 15,000-member force has not been assembled yet, but with several major European countries now on board, more pledges from other countries are coming in.
Mainly Muslim Indonesia announced it would send up to 1,000 soldiers by month's end after Israel dropped objections to its participation in the force. The U.S., Europe and Israel have been eager to have Muslim troops among the peacekeepers to show it is not a solely Christian force. However Israel opposed Indonesia's taking part because it does not have relations with that country.
Turkey's prime minister, meanwhile, was trying to ensure that parliament approves his government's promise to send troops amid strong public opposition. Recep Tayyip Erdogan assured Turks the soldiers would not be disarming Hezbollah militants.
"When such a thing is requested from our soldiers, then we will withdraw our soldiers," Erdogan told reporters on Saturday.
The UN cease-fire resolution calls for Hezbollah to eventually be disarmed, but doesn't mandate the peacekeepers to do it.
Instead, the force, along with the 15,000 Lebanese troops now moving into the south, is to ensure a buffer zone along the Israeli-Lebanese border free of open Hezbollah fighters and arms, up to the Litani river about 30 kilometers to the North. At the same time, Lebanese troops on the border with Syria are supposed to prevent new weapons shipments to Hezbollah. UN chief Kofi Annan said Friday that Syria, Hezbollah's ally, promised to patrol its side of the frontier to prevent arms deliveries, though Israel was skeptical it would really do so.
Annan on Saturday was in Iran, another top patron of Hezbollah and believed by many to be its top arms supplier, to press its leadership to ensure no weapons go to Hezbollah, as the UN cease-fire resolution requires all nations to do.
Despite the lack of a mandate to disarm Hezbollah, UNIFIL commander, the French General Alain Pellegrini said the expanded international force marked a break from a past in which peacekeepers stood helplessly by as conflicts repeatedly flared.
"We have to forget the previous UNIFIL. The previous UNIFIL is dead and the new one is very different," Pellegrini told reporters. "It is strengthened with stronger rules of engagement. We will have more people, more equipment. We have the possibility to use force to implement our mission."
After talks with Annan, Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki gave a vague promise to uphold the resolution, saying, "Iran has supported the Lebanese consensus on the resolution." He did not specifically address the weapons issue.
400 Italian peacekeepers arrive in Lebanon
More than 400 Italian soldiers arrived Saturday in south Lebanon, as an advance party of the first large contingent of international troops dispatched to boost the United Nations peacekeeping force.
One hundred fifty Italian marines wearing blue berets arrived by helicopter in the Mediterranean port city of Tyre to secure two beaches where the remainder of an 880-strong battalion of Italian soldiers were to land through the day.
But only part of the force was able to make it to shore due to high waves Saturday. Some vehicles and equipment were diverted further south to Naqoura.
By sundown, a total of 400 Italian soldiers had landed in Lebanon and the operation would resume Sunday morning, said a UN officer who spoke on
condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media.
Another 200 Italian troops are expected Sunday in Beirut. Italy will be the biggest troop contributor to the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon, with 3,000.
An Italian navy spokesman said some 800 had arrived in Lebanese waters out of a total of about 3,000 that Italy has pledged. The rest of the force will land Saturday and Sunday depending on sea conditions, he added.
Most of the first 1,000 that began arriving Saturday will move to positions 20 kilometers inland from the coastal city of Tyre, the Italian Defense Ministry said.
Besides the Italian contingent, 250 extra French soldiers have made it to Lebanon, though France has said it will send a total of 2,000 troops.
Italy's foreign minister teased France on Saturday over its World Cup soccer final defeat to Italy, joking that the French would also come second in sending peacekeepers to Lebanon.
"Yes we are the first like in the football World Cup, but the French are coming second, very soon I think," Italian Foreign Minister Massimo D'Alema told reporters after EU foreign ministers discussed the Middle East at a meeting in Finland.
Israel drops objections to Indonesian contribution
Also Saturday, Indonesia said it will send up to 1,000 troops to southern Lebanon by the month's end, after Israel dropped objections to its participation in the United Nations peacekeeping force.
"We are ready to send troops by the end of the month at the latest," Indonesia's Foreign Minister Hassan Wirajuda told reporters while attending a conference on the resort island of Bali.
After talks that included UN peacekeeping officials, Israeli leaders reversed their stance that Indonesia should be barred because it does not reconize Israel, a UN official said. The official spoke anonymously because the negotiations were private.
A spokeswoman for Israel's mission to the UN said she had not been told Israel had shifted its position and promised to check again.
UN officials and European diplomats have urged Muslim nations to make substantial offers for the force despite Israel's refusal. Malaysia and Bangladesh have also offered troops.
The European Union has pledged 6,900 additional forces for the UN peacekeeping mission, but that is well short of the 15,000 that the Security Council envisioned in an August 11 resolution that led to a cease-fire to the war between Israel and Hezbollah militants.
Turkish government submits resolution to parliament to send troops
Turkey's government on Friday submitted a resolution to parliament to send peacekeepers to Lebanon despite public opposition to the deployment.
The parliament is expected on Tuesday to vote on the resolution authorizing a one-year deployment of an unspecified number of troops.
The Turkish contribution to the expanded UN peacekeeping mission would include a naval task force to patrol the eastern Mediterranean and prevent arms smuggling.
Many in Turkey fear that their soldiers could end up facing hostile fire or could clash with fellow Muslims. But Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan offered assurances that Turkish soldiers would not be disarming Hezbollah militants.
According to the resolution, Turkish forces would also help train Lebanese army troops and provide sea and air transport in support of other national contingents in the UN force.
Europe, the United States and Israel are all eager to see peacekeepers from Turkey in Lebanon, in the hopes that strong Muslim participation would avoid any impression in Lebanon that the UN peacekeepers are primarily a Christian, European force.