Israel delays withdrawal from Lebanon
Israel is unlikely to complete its withdrawal from Lebanon by the weekend, Israel's army chief said Wednesday, backing away from earlier predictions. "We very much hoped it would happen by Friday, but in the dialogue we have been holding with the UN and the Lebanese Army there are a few issues to be wrapped up," Lieutenant General Dan Halutz told Israel Radio Wednesday.
"I hope it will take place in the next few days, but it looks likely to be after the holiday," he said, referring to the Jewish New Year, which begins Friday night.
Halutz said earlier this week that Israeli forces would be able to quit Lebanon by Friday.
That timetable was confirmed earlier Wednesday by Israeli Defense Minister Amir Peretz. "This is our intent, we definitely want to complete it," Peretz said during a tour of southern Israel. "Let's hope there are no hitches and delays in the coordination with the Lebanese Army and the international forces."
The United Nations secretary general's representative in Lebanon also said early Wednesday that the remaining Israeli troops would withdraw from Lebanon by the weekend.
"The UN is looking forward to achieving a full Israeli withdrawal and ensuring a successful cooperation between the Lebanese Army and UNIFIL," Geir Pedersen said after meeting with Defense Minister Elias Murr.
Halutz did not specify what was holding up the withdrawal.
Earlier on Wednesday, a spokesman for the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) told AFP that the number of its peacekeepers in South Lebanon had more than doubled to 5,000 - a key condition that Israel has demanded before completely exiting its northern neighbor.
"We have reached the 5,000 troops. The first phase of the UNIFIL deployment is now completed," said Alexander Ivanko in the Mediterranean coastal town of Naqoura on the border with Israel.
The prewar number of about 2,000 UNIFIL troops, Ivanko said, had been boosted by three new battalions from France, Italy and Spain, although it would still take weeks for all the new troops to be deployed in the South.
Troops from other countries, notably Indonesia, will follow in October and November, he said, adding that the operation posed a "logistical nightmare".
In Berlin, German lawmakers were voting by a large majority to send warships to the UN peacekeeping force in Lebanon with a mandate to stop arms shipments to Hizbullah.
"There is perhaps no other area of the world where Germany's unique responsibility, the unique responsibility of every German government to heed the lessons of our past is so clear than it is here," Merkel said.
Norway, Sweden, Denmark and the Netherlands are also sending warships to join the expanded UN force.
The Swedish military said Wednesday that a Swedish coastal patrol vessel has left for the Mediterranean.
"The corvette HMS Gaevle set sail late on Tuesday as part of its transfer to the Mediterranean," the military said in a statement. No date has been set yet for the ship's arrival off the Lebanese coast.
To defuse opposition at home, Merkel has ruled out sending combat troops in an attempt to ensure that German soldiers will not get caught up in a confrontation with Israeli forces.
Malaysia also got the go-ahead to send troops to Lebanon despite initial objections from Israel, the Malaysian state news agency said Wednesday.
Premier Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said the UN had invited Malaysia to join the peacekeeping force in Lebanon, although it will send less than the 1,000 troops originally offered.
"The UN has approved the deployment of 360 Malaysian peacekeepers in Lebanon," Abdullah was quoted as saying by the official Bernama news agency in New York Tuesday.
In South Lebanon, 17 Israeli soldiers interrogated three Lebanese civilians fishing in the Wazzani River.
The National News Agency reported that Maher Ibrahim Sayyed, Moussa Suleiman al-Hadi and Ali Mohammad Qassem Khalil were questioned "for some time" before the Israelis asked them to leave the land they claimed belonged to the Israeli Army.
In other developments, an International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) spokesperson said Wednesday an ICRC team in Tel Aviv had visited four Lebanese detainees.
"The ICRC has conveyed oral messages to the detainees' families," Hisham Hassan said but refused to reveal any names.
"I hope it will take place in the next few days, but it looks likely to be after the holiday," he said, referring to the Jewish New Year, which begins Friday night.
Halutz said earlier this week that Israeli forces would be able to quit Lebanon by Friday.
That timetable was confirmed earlier Wednesday by Israeli Defense Minister Amir Peretz. "This is our intent, we definitely want to complete it," Peretz said during a tour of southern Israel. "Let's hope there are no hitches and delays in the coordination with the Lebanese Army and the international forces."
The United Nations secretary general's representative in Lebanon also said early Wednesday that the remaining Israeli troops would withdraw from Lebanon by the weekend.
"The UN is looking forward to achieving a full Israeli withdrawal and ensuring a successful cooperation between the Lebanese Army and UNIFIL," Geir Pedersen said after meeting with Defense Minister Elias Murr.
Halutz did not specify what was holding up the withdrawal.
Earlier on Wednesday, a spokesman for the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) told AFP that the number of its peacekeepers in South Lebanon had more than doubled to 5,000 - a key condition that Israel has demanded before completely exiting its northern neighbor.
"We have reached the 5,000 troops. The first phase of the UNIFIL deployment is now completed," said Alexander Ivanko in the Mediterranean coastal town of Naqoura on the border with Israel.
The prewar number of about 2,000 UNIFIL troops, Ivanko said, had been boosted by three new battalions from France, Italy and Spain, although it would still take weeks for all the new troops to be deployed in the South.
Troops from other countries, notably Indonesia, will follow in October and November, he said, adding that the operation posed a "logistical nightmare".
In Berlin, German lawmakers were voting by a large majority to send warships to the UN peacekeeping force in Lebanon with a mandate to stop arms shipments to Hizbullah.
"There is perhaps no other area of the world where Germany's unique responsibility, the unique responsibility of every German government to heed the lessons of our past is so clear than it is here," Merkel said.
Norway, Sweden, Denmark and the Netherlands are also sending warships to join the expanded UN force.
The Swedish military said Wednesday that a Swedish coastal patrol vessel has left for the Mediterranean.
"The corvette HMS Gaevle set sail late on Tuesday as part of its transfer to the Mediterranean," the military said in a statement. No date has been set yet for the ship's arrival off the Lebanese coast.
To defuse opposition at home, Merkel has ruled out sending combat troops in an attempt to ensure that German soldiers will not get caught up in a confrontation with Israeli forces.
Malaysia also got the go-ahead to send troops to Lebanon despite initial objections from Israel, the Malaysian state news agency said Wednesday.
Premier Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said the UN had invited Malaysia to join the peacekeeping force in Lebanon, although it will send less than the 1,000 troops originally offered.
"The UN has approved the deployment of 360 Malaysian peacekeepers in Lebanon," Abdullah was quoted as saying by the official Bernama news agency in New York Tuesday.
In South Lebanon, 17 Israeli soldiers interrogated three Lebanese civilians fishing in the Wazzani River.
The National News Agency reported that Maher Ibrahim Sayyed, Moussa Suleiman al-Hadi and Ali Mohammad Qassem Khalil were questioned "for some time" before the Israelis asked them to leave the land they claimed belonged to the Israeli Army.
In other developments, an International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) spokesperson said Wednesday an ICRC team in Tel Aviv had visited four Lebanese detainees.
"The ICRC has conveyed oral messages to the detainees' families," Hisham Hassan said but refused to reveal any names.
posted by Huda Nassar at 7:55 PM
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