The commander of United Nations peacekeepers said a joint meeting with Lebanese and Israeli officers on Monday had brought closer a full Israeli troop withdrawal from south Lebanon in line with a UN resolution.
Major General Alain Pelligrini met representatives of the Lebanese and Israeli armies at his Unifil (UN Interim Force in Lebanon) headquarters in the southern Lebanese port of Naquora to coordinate the process of the Israeli pullout and Lebanese deployment, in conjunction with the peacekeepers, a UN statement said.
”The meeting was productive and I think we are on the right track in securing the full withdrawal of IDF [Israeli forces] from Lebanon and finally ensuring that the Lebanese army will take control of the whole border area in the south,” he said.
Lebanon has become increasingly agitated by what it sees as a delay in the Israeli withdrawal and the lifting of an eight-week-old Israeli sea and air blockade. The UN has said the Israeli pullout will be completed once the number of peacekeepers reaches 5 000.
Security Council Resolution 1701, which halted a war between Israel and Lebanon’s Hezbollah last month, stipulates the deployment of a beefed-up Unifil and Lebanese troops in the south and the withdrawal of Israeli forces.
Qatar on Monday became the first Arab country to commit troops to the expanded UN force. The Gulf state said it would contribute 200 to 300 troops to the UN force and sent a civilian airliner to Beirut despite the Israeli blockade.
The planned deployment was announced by Qatari Foreign Minister Sheikh Hamad al-Thani during a visit to Doha by UN Secretary General Kofi Annan.
Speaking to reporters, Annan said the UN hoped the expanded UN force would be a ”manifestation of international solidarity” with Lebanon. He also urged Israel to lift its siege of the country, saying it was unsustainable.
”We are using the UN influence to lift the embargo, especially as Lebanon is trying to rebuild … It has to be allowed to rebuild. I urge Israel to cooperate,” he said.
Qatar, a political maverick in the conservative Gulf Arab region, maintains low-level ties with Israel. It is also a key US ally and hosts a major US military base.
”Qatar has relations with Israel and as a result Israel has no objection to its participation in the force,” Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mark Regev said.
Finnish contribution
The Finnish government has approved a plan to send up to 250 soldiers as the contribution to the UN operation in Lebanon, Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen told a news conference on Monday.
The main body of troops would arrive by the start of November and are expected to remain until end-2007. Finland’s troops will mainly be engineers, according to the plan.
German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier reiterated his commitment to sending a naval force to patrol Lebanon’s coast and prevent the smuggling of weapons. However, he said he was still waiting for an official request from Beirut.
Israel has kept an air and sea embargo on Lebanon since July 13. It has not lifted it after the truce, saying it was aimed at preventing Hezbollah rearming.
Qatar Airways resumed its direct service to Beirut, despite Israel’s demand that all such flights pass through Amman, Jordan, for security reasons. The first Qatar Airways plane landed in Beirut on Monday with 142 passengers on board.
Annan has in the past week visited Lebanon, Israel, the West Bank, Jordan, Qatar, Syria and Iran.
He said he won the support of the presidents of Syria and Iran, Hezbollah’s main backers, for the implementation of the UN resolution on Lebanon that halted the war which killed nearly 1 200 Lebanese and 157 Israelis.
Italy has pledged 3 000 troops, the largest single contribution, to a UN plan to increase the existing 2 000 peacekeepers in Lebanon to 15 000 to help enforce the truce. The Lebanese army is also deploying 15 000 troops in the area.
About 900 Italian troops, backed by about 150 vehicles, landed in south Lebanon at the weekend. The troops are expected to deploy in areas east and south of the port city of Tyre.
The war in Lebanon and a resurgence of violence in Gaza, which Israel quit last year, appeared to have a far-reaching effect on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said on Monday he had put his plan for an Israeli pullback from parts of the West Bank on hold for now, Army Radio reported.
”What I thought was the right thing to do in the Palestinian sphere several months ago has changed now,” the radio quoted Olmert as telling Parliament’s Foreign Affairs and Defence Committee in remarks about his ”realignment” proposal. — Reuters