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The Shaba Farms.
Last update - 23:29 18/06/2008
Lebanon PM: There's no place for bilateral talks with Israel
By Barak Ravid and Yoav Stern
Tags: Israel, Shaba Farms, Lebanon 

Lebanese Prime Minister Fuad Siniora rejected Israel's call for direct, bilateral talks to reach a peace deal between the two bordering countries.

"Lebanon's known position before this government is that there is no place for bilateral negotiations between Lebanon and Israel," Siniora's media office said in a statement late Wednesday.

Hezbollah legislator Nawar al-Saheli told The Associated Press that the Israeli offer is :ridiculous propaganda."
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Government spokesman Mark Regev said earlier Wednesday that Israel is interested in talks that would bring every issue of contention to the table. He said the talks would also cover a key border dispute over the Shaba Farms, a small piece of land controlled by Israel, the dispute over which is a key sticking point between Israel, Lebanon and Syria.

Regev's comments were the government's most explicit overture toward Lebanon. Last week, when Prime Minister Ehud Olmert hinted Israel would be interested in talks with Beirut, the Lebanese government rejected the notion. On Wednesday, a Lebanese government official said that position hadn't changed.


Wednesday's announcement came amid a flurry of developments in the region. Officials say they are close to a prisoner swap with Hezbollah guerrillas in Lebanon, and Israel also recently opened peace talks with Syria.

Meanwhile, a cease-fire between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas is set to begin on Thursday.

U.S. pushes for Israel-Lebanon peace talks, deal on Shaba

The United States has begun mediating between Israel and Lebanon in an effort to resolve their dispute over Shaba Farms in the hope they would then start peace talks.

U.S. President George Bush and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice informed Olmert of this during his visit to Washington two weeks ago, and Rice repeated it during her visit here earlier this week. According to a senior Israeli official, Rice gave Lebanon a message from Olmert on this issue on Monday.

The London-based Arabic daily Al-Hayat reported Tuesday that during her brief visit to Beirut
on Monday, Rice told Lebanese officials that the U.S. was working to obtain an Israeli withdrawal from Shaba. "Our efforts are continuing, and will be stepped up in the coming weeks," the paper quoted Rice as saying.

Next month, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon will brief the Security Council on the implementation of Resolution 1701, which ended the Second Lebanon War. His report is expected to clarify the UN's position on the Shaba dispute.

Shaba, located on the border between the Golan Heights and Lebanon, was omitted from Israel's May 2000 withdrawal from Lebanon because the Security Council said it was Syrian territory, not Lebanese. However, both the Lebanese government and Hezbollah have since insisted that Shaba is Lebanese, while Syria has refused to either back or dispute this claim. Following the Second Lebanon War two years ago, therefore, the UN agreed to set up a task force to determine where exactly the Lebanese-Syrian border lies.

A senior Israeli official said that both Rice and Bush told Olmert they want to support Prime Minister Fuad Siniora's government in Lebanon and weaken Hezbollah. The best way to do this, they argued, is to cede Shaba to Lebanon, thereby eliminating Hezbollah's claim that only it can liberate Shaba.

Moreover, they argued, progress on Shaba may lead to the opening of peace talks between Lebanon and Israel. Beirut has previously said that a withdrawal from Shaba is a precondition for talks.

Olmert responded that he agreed in principle, but had several conditions. First, he said, any resolution of the Shaba dispute must include full implementation of Resolution 1701, which, inter alia, requires Hezbollah's disarmament and an end to arms smuggling from Syria. Moreover, he said, until the UN decides whether Shaba is Syrian or Lebanese, there is no point in discussing its future.

In general, he said, the outstanding issues between Lebanon and Israel are not complicated, and should be easier to resolve than Israel's disputes with Syria. "I'm willing to sit down to direct negotiations with Lebanon in order to resolve everything necessary, including Shaba Farms," the official quoted him as saying.

European diplomats told Haaretz they also expect Israel to withdraw from Shaba, should the UN indeed declare it Lebanese.

The Lebanese government had proposed in 2006 that Israeli troops be replaced by the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), which would hand the area over to Lebanon should the UN conclude finally that the area is Lebanese. However, Israel opposes this idea, and this week, Hezbollah said it would still consider Shaba occupied territory even if it were under UNIFIL's control.


Related articles:
  • Report: Hezbollah willing to negotiate over Shaba Farms
  • Syrian official: Peace with Israel will create harmonious Mideast
  • UN envoy: Israel has given Syria a 'huge gift' for free
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      1.   Now, lets make some progress! 08:50  |  Natallie Durson 18/06/08
      2.   By right Security of Golan Heights... 09:10  |  The Archives 18/06/08
      3.   AFTER THE GOLAN, UMM RASH-RASH 10:13  |  indrajaya 18/06/08
      4.   Endless cycle: Hizbolla will find another claim 11:09  |  Ilan 18/06/08
      5.   Give Shaba back anyway, and ..... 11:22  |  David Plane 18/06/08
      6.   Keep Shaba, you won it fairly. 11:38  |  petra 18/06/08
      7.   wow, all the peace headlines are making my head spin 12:19  |  fadi 18/06/08
      8.   INDRAJAYA ALERT = FAKE NUMBER 3 12:41  |  indrajaya 18/06/08
      9.   To fadi # 7 - Right you are ,,, it is only Olmert 13:10  |  Dagma 18/06/08
      10.   NOT with Olmert PLEASE....... 13:20  |  netta 18/06/08
      11.   A much better track then peace with Syria 13:35  |  David Gratvol 18/06/08
      12.   Take everything, only let me still be Prime Minister 13:40  |  Rafael of australia 18/06/08
      13.   RICE - another manipulator. 13:41  |  Dolly 18/06/08
      14.   Hezbollah on Mt.Dov-Iranian Revolutionary Guard on rest of Golan 13:47  |  yoni 18/06/08
      15.   Olmert only knows ONE tune ... retreat/run away/give away 14:31  |  smarter then Olmert 18/06/08
      16.   Shaba farms aren`t important at all, the only issue is Hezbollah 15:13  |  ivo 18/06/08
      17.   Any more "good advice" from the US? 16:11  |  Mark Anthony 18/06/08
      18.   Who Is Calling The Shots? 16:11  |  Cool B 18/06/08
      19.   Hesballa, the peace catalyseur 16:19  |  northern neighbor 18/06/08
      20.   #18 No more Short Calls from Hollywood 17:20  |  The Archives 18/06/08
      21.   Cool B #18: US is not such a big shot - 17:22  |  ivo 18/06/08
      22.   Indrajaya: Justice Not Peace 17:29  |  Brad 18/06/08
      23.   #15 Finally One who is SMARTER 17:35  |  The Archives 18/06/08
      24.   #20 THe Archives & #21 Ivo 18:07  |  Cool B 18/06/08
      25.   Lebanese Should Engage in One Topic First! 18:20  |  Monitor 18/06/08
      26.   Why would Lebanon want peace with Israel 18:26  |  Dave Duncan 18/06/08
      27.   Peace not Piece (of land) 18:37  |  Citizen of the world 18/06/08
      28.   What Lebanese Government? 18:53  |  MichaelF 18/06/08
      29.   THE WAY TO WITHDRAWAL FROM SHABA FARMS IS CLEAR 18:54  |  Ian 18/06/08
      30.   #24 Absolutely agree with you... 18:59  |  The Archives 18/06/08
      31.   Cool B #24: US financial aid etc. doesn`t make it decide as much 19:12  |  ivo 18/06/08
      32.   Poor Golan Heights 19:17  |  sweis Melbourne 18/06/08
      33.   Monitor #25: monitor better - 19:42  |  ivo 18/06/08
      34.   Conversation between Rice and Olmert in the PMO 20:15  |  Chris Linthwaite 18/06/08
      35.   #31 ivo 20:18  |  Cool B 18/06/08
      36.   To Ivo #33 - Thank You 20:41  |  Monitor 18/06/08
      37.   Lebanon 21:02  |  moody 18/06/08
      38.   #26. Dave Duncan from Washington D.C. 21:23  |  Stephen. 18/06/08
      39.   Could it really be??? 21:27  |  Danny 18/06/08
      40.   Cool B #35 21:31  |  ivo 18/06/08
      41.   Israel says it`s ready to begin peace talks with Idaho 22:08  |  Herbert Kaine 18/06/08
      42.   Monitor #36: comparisons & confusion of categories - 1 22:25  |  ivo 18/06/08
      43.   #40 ivo 22:29  |  Cool B 18/06/08
      44.   There is no reason for a dispute btwn Israel and Lebanon 22:30  |  shabbawhat? 18/06/08
      45.   Deconstruction of Israel has begun in earnest 22:45  |  Kevin 18/06/08
      46.   a principled position by Lebanon 23:02  |  Leon Rosgarten 18/06/08
      47.   Chicken-Poo, Immature, & Immoral 23:19  |  Brad 18/06/08
      48.   Stephen 23:31  |  Dave Duncan 18/06/08
      49.   s 23:57  |  matt 18/06/08
      50.   Chicken-poo from Canada #46 00:06  |  Philip 19/06/08
      51.   #29 Ian 00:13  |  ballistic 19/06/08
      52.   #46 Say Brad up in Canada 00:18  |  ballistic 19/06/08
      53.   #43 Shabbawhat 00:19  |  ballistic 19/06/08
      54.   Cool B #42 00:32  |  ivo 19/06/08
      55.   Why should anyone help Siniora? 01:19  |  Realist 19/06/08
      56.   RE AFTER THE GOLAN, UMM RASH-RASH 01:45  |  Steve 19/06/08
      57.   #1 What progress? Lebanon reject direct talks! 02:00  |  DesMnsDave 19/06/08
      58.   #5 Unilaterally giving Shaba back gives Hezbollah base 02:03  |  DesMnsDave 19/06/08
      59.   Phillip`s a Baby & Must Be Related to Siniora 02:52  |  Brad 19/06/08
      60.   give it up 03:33  |  farrokh 19/06/08
      61.   This Peace is a Huge Arab Liability 03:37  |  Slappy 19/06/08
      62.   Cool B 03:45  |  Tarzan 19/06/08
      63.   To Indrajaya 04:27  |  Proud Jew 19/06/08
      64.   Take away their fig-leaf ! 05:11  |  Jimmy 19/06/08
      65.   Lebanon doesn`t want peace - what else is new? 05:51  |  Conroy 19/06/08
      66.   You know? Lebanese Prime Minister Fuad Siniora is right!!! 06:09  |  Akiva P 19/06/08
      67.   #8 Easier to assume all Indrajaya`s are fakes 06:28  |  DesMnsDave 19/06/08
      68.   How can Sinora have talks when Hezballah is holding his globes... 06:37  |  r