Israel to withdraw when first UN troops arrive in Lebanon

Israel will begin withdrawing its troops from southern Lebanon as soon as the first 5,000 United Nations peacekeepers arrive, Italian Premier Romano Prodi said after talks with Israeli Deputy Premier Shimon Peres on Thursday.

This is "an important development because it will bring peace," the premier said at a joint news conference with Peres.

Peres said Israel wanted to begin bilateral negotiations with Beirut because it wants "to build positive relations with Lebanon. "

He then praised Italy's decision to take part in the United Nations' peacekeeping force which will enter southern Lebanon under UN Resolution 1701, which brokered a ceasefire in the 34-day conflict between Israel and the militant group Hezbollah.

The resolution requires Hezbollah and Israel to end their military operations and obliges Israel to withdraw its troops as soon as the UN troops arrive.

"If Italy had not decided to deploy troops in Lebanon, Resolution 1701 would have been a meaningless piece of paper," said Peres.

"Italy has a worldwide reputation as a great builder of bridges so it can promote peace efforts not just in Lebanon but throughout the region".

Peres said Rome had acted "swiftly and decidedly" to help defuse the crisis and Israel "thanks it for all it is doing."

"Italy is not a country that steps in to gain something for itself but simply to help bring peace," he added.

Prodi recalled that he had discussed the situation in Lebanon with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad during a phone conversation on Tuesday.

"Assad assured me that Syria would back Resolution 1701 and the UN peacekeeping force."

Italian Foreign Minister Massimo D'Alema told Syria on Wednesday that the international community "would not stand by idly" if it endangered a UN brokered ceasefire by sending arms to Hezbollah in Lebanon.

The 34-day conflict was triggered by a Hezbollah incursion into Israeli territory on July 12, when guerrillas belonging to the group killed eight Israeli soldiers and captured two others.

Some 1,000 Lebanese civilians and more than 115 Israelis, mostly soldiers, were killed during the fighting.

Source: Xinhua