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Berri warns war on horizon unless Israel ends violations
The United Nations representative in Lebanon said on Wednesday that a solution was near on the matter of Israeli troops who continue to occupy the Lebanese border village of Ghajar, even as Lebanon's speaker threatened to resume war if the Jewish state did not halt its violations of Lebanese sovereignty. "We discussed the issue of Ghajar and we are confident that we will find a good solution to the question of Ghajar very soon, so that this will not remain a problem," said Geir Pedersen, representative of UN chief Kofi Annan. "I will not give you any time, but we are working very, very hard. We hope to find a quick solution," Pedersen told reporters after a meeting with Lebanese Foreign Minister Fawzi Salloukh.The village of Ghajar, which straddles the Israeli-Lebanese border, is the last position occupied by the Israeli Army since its soldiers left South Lebanon on October 1. The Israeli withdrawal came almost seven weeks after a UN-brokered cessation of hostilities took effect on August 14, ending 34 days of war. Pedersen said the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) "is discussing this with the Lebanese side and the Israeli side." Ghajar, at the foot of Mount Hermon straddling the Lebanese-Syrian border, is perched on a cliff overlooking the precious Wazzani Spring, which has been a source of continuous disputes between Israel and Lebanon. The area is inhabited by Alawites, most of whom have obtained Israeli citizenship, even though most consider themselves to be Syrian. The village is an extension of the Syrian Golan Heights plateau, which Israel occupied during the 1967 Arab-Israeli war and then annexed in 1981. According to a UN-drawn "Blue Line" marking the border between Israel and Lebanon following the May 2000 Israeli troop pullout, two-thirds of the village is on Lebanese soil, while the other third is part of occupied Syrian territory. Posted by: Fred 2006-10-13 |
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