Israel has decided to start negotiations with the United Nations over a withdrawal from the northern part of a village spanning the Israel-Lebanon border, local daily Ha'aretz reported Wednesday.
The village of Ghajar went under dispute immediately after Israel withdrew from Lebanon in 2000. Lebanon and its Shiite militant Hezbollah movement have demanded the Jewish state to pullback from the northern half of the village, while Israel have refused to do so for security concerns.
Following consultations with Defense Minister Ehud Barak, Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni and other senior officials, caretaker Prime Minister Ehud Olmert on Wednesday gave his nod to kick off the talks with the United Nations Interim Forces in Lebanon (UNIFIL).
The goal of the negotiations, Israeli officials were quoted as saying, is to ensure that any agreement must take Israel's security concerns into account, and must include working guidelines for cooperation between Israeli forces and the UNIFIL, without which Israel will not pull back.
The report added that Israel is seeking to complete the move in a way that would make it difficult for Hezbollah to claim the pullout as a victory, with one option being to sign a three-way agreement with the UN and Lebanon.
Source:Xinhua
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