Lebanon Begins to Verify Border EncroachmentsA team of UN personnel and Lebanese army officers are scheduled to verify whether Israel has ended its violations of the line of withdrawal on Monday.There are nine existing violations, according to the UN, most of them in the areas where sections of the old border fence and patrol roads stray into Lebanese territory and small observation posts located north of the so-called Blue Line, drawn by the UN to verify Israel's withdrawal from south Lebanon. Israel promised last week to end the violations. Security sources believe that most were amended by the onset of the weekend, Daily Star newspaper reported. A western diplomat in Beirut on Sunday described July 17 as a critical date for ending the violations. Fulfilling the remaining components of the U.N. Security Council Resolution 425 cannot occur until the violations are concluded, the Lebanese government has said, adding that it will not approve the permanent deployment of U.N. peacekeepers into the area vacated by Israeli troops until Israeli forces remain behind the Blue Line. Local media reported that the international community was ready to offer loans and grants to Lebanon to help rebuild not only the south but the rest of the country. However, this will only happen once peace and stability are restored to the south. The results of the border inspection will be reported by General Amin Hoteit, the head of the Lebanese team, to the government, while the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) will contact U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan on their findings. Annan has been concerned about following developments in south Lebanon since he announced on June 24 that Israel had fully departed Lebanon. The subsequent Israeli violations were seen as serving to undermine his personal credibility. |
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