UNIFIL in Dark over Israeli Freeze on Ghajar Pullout
Israel has failed to notify U.N. peacekeepers along the volatile Lebanese-Israeli border of its decision to freeze its plan to withdraw from the disputed village of Ghajar, a U.N. official said Thursday.
"The U.N. Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) has not been notified by Israel of any change in their position on this matter," said Milos Strugar, UNIFIL's director of political and civil affairs.
"Our consultations with the parties continue and it is imperative that the process of withdrawal is taken to a speedy conclusion."
Israel announced on February 7 that it had frozen plans to withdraw from Ghajar after Lebanon's unity government led by Saad Hariri was brought down by Hizbullah.
Last November, Israel approved plans to withdraw its troops from the northern part of Ghajar and redeploy them on the southern side of the U.N.-drawn Blue Line that cuts through Ghajar.
The Blue Line places northern Ghajar in Lebanon and the southern sector in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights. Israel seized the Lebanese part during its 2006 war with Hizbullah.
Most Ghajar residents, who number around 2,200, are against the division of their village, which would leave 1,700 people in the north and 500 on the Israeli side.
Source: Agence France Presse
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