Verification of pullout expected to start today

By David Rudge, Jerusalem Post, 7.6.00

HAIFA (June 7) - Special UNIFIL teams are expected to begin work today on verifying Israel's withdrawal from Lebanon, just one day after the 18th anniversary of the beginning of what became known as the Lebanon War.

UN cartographers yesterday completed marking the "withdrawal line" on the ground and maps clearly defining this were due to be given to UNIFIL last night.

"If all goes according to schedule, we hope by midday Wednesday to be able to begin the process of verifying the withdrawal to the line that has been defined and marked by UN technical experts," said UNIFIL spokesman Timur Goksel.

"We have four verification teams of UNIFIL personnel prepared to carry out this task and we expect their mission to be completed within 24 hours after which a report will be sent to UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan," he said.

The verification work is being carried out in coordination with the IDF, especially since some areas are only accessible from the Israeli side of the international boundary. UNIFIL force commander Maj.-Gen. Seth Kofi Obeng has been in contact with OC Northern Command Maj.-Gen. Gabi Ashkenazi as well as with the Lebanese army to coordinate and facilitate the ground work.

Once this task is completed, the verification of Israel's pullout to the UN-defined withdrawal line has to be confirmed and approved by the Security Council. Only after that and if the Lebanese government also gives its approval can UNIFIL begin deploying its forces throughout south Lebanon.

Goksel said plans had already been prepared for where units of the international peacekeeping force would establish permanent and temporary positions, as well as infantry and mobile patrol routes.

Provided the Lebanese government accepts the UN's findings on the withdrawal and agrees to UNIFIL's deployment, the peacekeeping force would use its existing resources and manpower.

At present, UNIFIL is composed of 4,500 troops from nine different countries but there are plans to increase this to 8,000 soldiers once the Israeli withdrawal has been confirmed and approved by the Security Council and the Lebanese government.

As part of the IDF's deployment to the internationally-recognized boundary, sappers yesterday blew up part of the Livneh outpost, near Moshav Zarit in Western Galilee, which was encroaching on Lebanese territory.

UN cartographers toured the entire "withdrawal line" from Rosh Hanikra to Mount Hermon, marking lines on the ground with blue paint and daubing conrete marker posts in a similar color.

UN special Middle East envoy Terje Larsen announced late Monday night that the definition of the withdrawal line had been fixed and that the consultation process with Israeli and Lebanese leaders was over.

He stressed, however, that the UN's task was to determine the withdrawal line based on the best possible available evidence and not mark out the international boundary between Israel and Lebanon.

There were some points of contention to which the Lebanese have still not agreed fully, but the line itself has been determined. Diplomatic sources noted that the work could have been completed earlier but unforeseen snags had arisen which the UN had tried to resolve through consultations with regional leaders, especially in Lebanon and Israel.

Israel stated from the outset that it would fully comply with Security Council Resolution 425 calling for the withdrawal of all IDF troops from south Lebanon, and would abide by the withdrawal line determined by the UN.

In general, the border region has been relatively quiet since the IDF withdrawal, although Prime Minister Ehud Barak yesterday warned that Syria might try to re-ignite south Lebanon by using proxies to launch cross-border attacks on Israel.

Barak said in Ma'alot that the Lebanese army had not deployed in south Lebanon, probably because of Syrian pressure. "There is [apparently] a Syrian attempt to recruit Palestinian activists and send them to act against Israel and if this happens we will know what to do," said Barak. Any such attacks on Israel from Lebanon would be tantamount to an act of war, he said.

Meanwhile, the Beirut military court on Monday gave light prison terms ranging from one to 30 months to former South Lebanese Army soldiers who surrendered, and some were released after being fined. The severest sentence five years.

News agency reports said that the relatively light sentences were seen as a signal to the over 6,000 other former SLA members and other residents of the zone who fled to Israel after the withdrawal that they should also consider returning to their homes.

A group of about 24 mainly women did cross the border at the Rosh Hanikra crossing point yesterday and returned to Lebanon.

In a separate matter, Israel yesterday returned to Lebanon the body of a former SLA soldier who died in Rambam Hospital late last month of wounds he suffered in a Hizbullah attack on May 22. The return of the body was coordinated by various branches of the IDF, including the Northern Command, in cooperation with the International Committee of the Red Cross.