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The Shaba Farms.
Last update - 15:45 19/06/2008
Egypt to UN: Demand Israel hand over Shaba Farms to int'l peacekeepers
By Barak Ravid and Yoav Stern, Haaretz Correspondent
Tags: Syria, UN, Lebanon 

Egypt asked United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon and the 15 members of the UN security cabinet several days ago to demand that Israel hand the Shaba Farms over to the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), until the status of the disputed territory is determined either by a UN resolution or by the demarcation of the border between Syria and Lebanon.

Jerusalem sources said on Wednesday that Egypt is planning in coming days to submit an official letter to the security council and to the secretary general on the matter.

The Egyptian demand will maintain that since Lebanon elected Michel Suleiman president last month, the time is right to bolster the government of Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora with a settlement on Shaba.
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The sources added that the Egyptian ambassador to the UN is conducting talks on the matter with security council members in order to convince them that a solution to the Shaba Farms dispute would constitute a "blow to Hezbollah and Iran."

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 almost two years ago, therefore, the UN agreed to set up a task force to determine where exactly the Lebanese-Syrian border lies.

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.

In another month or so, the UN secretary general plans to brief the security council on the implementation of UN Resolution 1701, which ended the Second Lebanon War. In previous reports on the matter, the area was mentioned but not explicitly defined as either Lebanese or Syrian. In the coming report, Ban is expected to include a clearer statement regarding steps that should be taken to solve the dispute.

Government spokesman Mark Regev said Wednesday that Israel is interested in talks with Lebanon that would cover the Shaba dispute.

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.

Egyptian sources rejected Israel's call on Wednesday for a solution in the framework of bilateral talks between Jerusalem and Beirut. "Lebanon has enough internal problems that will prevent it from entering into talks with Israel. Good sense and political wisdom obligate Israel to fulfill its part here in order for stability to be achieved there," one of the sources said.

Related articles:
  • Lebanon PM: There's no place for bilateral talks with Israel
  • Lebanon: Israel must quit Shaba Farms if it wants peace talks
  • Syria willing to transfer disputed Shaba Farms to UN custody
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      1.   OH REALLY? 10:01  |  indrajaya 19/06/08
      2.   Egypt cannot be trusted. 10:23  |  Jean Van Daem 19/06/08
      3.   land 10:36  |  Hayyumi 19/06/08
      4.   The "peace", of which the Left is so proud 10:50  |  Binyamin Dissen 19/06/08
      5.   Again Egypt shows it`s a Cold Peace 11:10  |  David Teich 19/06/08
      6.   golden opportunity for Olmert 12:36  |  Leon Rosgarten 19/06/08
      7.   IF Sheba is Lebanese why don`t the Syrians just sign it over? 12:46  |  PETER SM 19/06/08
      8.   NO to Islamist-Jihadist demand 13:04  |  Brod 19/06/08
      9.   Arabs for Arabs ...... Always..... 13:27  |  Dolly 19/06/08
      10.   Why the subject is an Eyptian concern? Is it because Israel took 14:12  |  Aviv 19/06/08
      11.   The |UN confirmed twice that the retreat was complete 14:27  |  MR 19/06/08
      12.   This is what Israel wants to do anyway. 14:30  |  Jo 19/06/08
      13.   #! Idrajaya 14:34  |  Moshe 19/06/08
      14.   Turnover The Sheba Farms Now!!! 14:37  |  Ramius 19/06/08
      15.   HESBALLAH has already rejected this!! 14:39  |  PETER SM 19/06/08
      16.   Egypt is an enemy of Israel, pure and simple 14:54  |  McQueen 19/06/08
      17.   Suleiman is a Hezbollah puppet. Why should Israel stengthen him? 14:55  |  McQueen 19/06/08
      18.   Now it`s gone from "land for peace" to "land for no peace." 14:56  |  McQueen 19/06/08
      19.   To Whom Does Shaba Farms Belong? 14:56  |  Moshe 19/06/08
      20.   yes, really, indrajaya #1. Aren`t you paying attention? 14:59  |  bbl 19/06/08
      21.   #5 cold peace? 15:03  |  FalluJah 19/06/08
      22.   DON`T SAY SYRIA 15:06  |  newsreader 19/06/08
      23.   Me to Egypt: Demand Egypt hand over Sinai back to Israel 16:07  |  Genuine Tosefta 19/06/08
      24.   Israel is again required to pay with hard currency, for what? 16:13  |  Genuine Tosefta 19/06/08
      25.   bbl don`t expect anything from this JIHAD FINANCIAL SPONSOR RAT 16:15  |  Genuine Tosefta 19/06/08
      26.   # 19 moshe 16:18  |  Axel 19/06/08
      27.   Why Egypt no asking Hezbollah to disarm 16:33  |  Mustafa Halil 19/06/08
      28.   #26 Axel 17:06  |  Moshe 19/06/08
      29.   Israel to UN: Demand not to relinquish any Israeli territory 17:28  |  The Archives 19/06/08
      30.   the issue of the Shaba farms 17:41  |  Alan 19/06/08
      31.   # 28 moshe 18:16  |  Axel 19/06/08
      32.   #30 Alan 18:21  |  boxley 19/06/08
      33.   #31 Axel 19:25  |  Moshe 19/06/08
      34.   With "friends" like Egypt, who needs "peace" 19:37  |  Ronnbo 19/06/08
      35.   # 33 moshe 19:49  |  Axel 19/06/08
      36.   And to add a remark, Herr Moshe 19:53  |  Axel 19/06/08
      37.   #35 Axel 20:17  |  Moshe 19/06/08
      38.   Herr Axel.... 20:18  |  Miransky 19/06/08
      39.   # 37 moshe 20:35  |  Axel 19/06/08
      40.   #36 Axel 20:35  |  Moshe 19/06/08
      41.   # 38 miransky 20:37  |  Axel 19/06/08
      42.   Military Strategy 20:55  |  Realist 19/06/08
      43.   Herr Axel 21:04  |  Miransky 19/06/08
      44.   WHAT`S THIS TO DO WITH EGYPT? 21:09  |  Ian 19/06/08
      45.   # 42 realist 21:17  |  Axel 19/06/08
      46.   # 43 miransky 21:30  |  Axel 19/06/08
      47.   It is part of Golan-look at a map 21:40  |  Realist 19/06/08
      48.   #21 22:14  |  Jane 19/06/08
      49.   Mustafa Halil for head of the Arab League! 22:48  |  Jane 19/06/08
      50.   # 43 miransky the legal expert 00:51  |  Axel 20/06/08
      51.   Miransky # 43 re; AXEL Germany and Israel comparison 01:03  |  American in NY 20/06/08
      52.   Lebanon =/= Hizbollah 07:13  |  Fenix 20/06/08
      53.   21: Fallujah the jihadist speaks 13:10  |  David Teich 20/06/08
      54.   Axel`s lost it again 16:35  |  David Teich 21/06/08
      55.   sheba farms 14:21  |  fayez 27/06/08
      56.   hand over Shaba Farms 22:26  |  Niels 13/07/08
      57.   Axel - Resolutions only count if they are against Israel 07:17  |  Reid 14/07/08
      58.   Axel and the rest - Arguing against 242 & 338 07:39  |  Reid 14/07/08
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