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Lebanon Acknowledges Correction of Israel's Border Violations
Lebanese Prime Minister Salim Hoss has said the verification process of Israel's post-withdrawal border violations is over, asserting that UN peacekeeping forces are free to fan out across the liberated zone, local press reported Friday.
The verdict that all border encroachments have been corrected was made in a three-hour meeting at the command headquarters of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) in Naqoura between UN and Lebanese army officers who conducted the on-the-spot verification operation.
Thus, the Lebanese government has given the green light for the UN peacekeepers deployment, and the operation now hinges on field arrangements and logistics, An Nahar newspaper said.
"We have been notified that the encroachment that was existing in a Yaroun hill has been terminated," Hoss said in a telephone interview with As Safir newspaper.
"The UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) can now carry out the plan of deployment along the entire border line any time it deems adequate since the Lebanese political decision approving this deployment has already been made," said the minister.
Mines in the central border district of Yaroun had made UN and Lebanese army verifying teams unable to reach the border line to certify the correction of Israel's last encroachment in that area, Asharq newspaper reported.
But An Nahar and As Safir papers said the 10-day verification process has finally confirmed that Israel has corrected all infringements on the UN-drawn withdrawal Blue Line, clearing any excuse for a further deployment delay.
As Safir paper reported that some 1,000 troops from UNIFIL's Irish, Finnish, Ukrainian, Nepalese, Ghanaian and Fijian contingents are poised to roll into 12 to 15 border outposts Saturday morning.
Once the troops fan out to the outposts, UNIFIL's deployment will cover the entire Blue Line from the Mediterranean town of Naqoura, some 100 kilometers inland, to Hasbaya and Kfar Shouba near the foothills of Mount Hermon.
Some 400 UNIFIL troops were deployed in six Blue Line locations in the Israeli-vacated zone earlier this week.
The Lebanese task force of 500 army troops and 500 policemen will roll into the liberated zone 24 hours after UNIFIL completes its deployment, As Safir paper said.
The force will take up positions in and around towns and villages away from the immediate border proximity. UNIFIL troops will patrol the borderline to monitor and report any future Israeli violations.
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