Israel: Troops Could Stay For Months
Israel's military chief said Wednesday that Israeli soldiers would remain in southern Lebanon for months, if necessary, until replaced by a combined force of U.N. and Lebanese army soldiers, Israel Radio reported.
Lt. Gen. Dan Halutz spoke in response to an intelligence assessment that it could take months for the U.N.-Lebanese force to deploy, the radio station reported. On Tuesday, Halutz predicted Israel would withdraw its forces from Lebanon within seven- to 10 days.
The Jerusalem Post reported that if the international force fails to disarm Hezbollah, Israel would resume the war.
Meanwhile, France and Turkey sent their top diplomats to Beirut on Wednesday to discuss the deployment of a 15,000-strong international force to southern Lebanon, part of which the U.N. hopes can be in place in the next two weeks. They are up against a tight deadline, reports CBS News correspondent Allen Pizzey. The void after the Israeli army leaves will be filled by the United Nations force already in Lebanon but it is nothing like the robust force needed.
And Israeli analysts say the battle for who will rebuild Lebanon is on, reports CBS News correspondent Robert Berger. It pits the Lebanese government, backed by western aid, against Hezbollah, backed by money from Iran. Hezbollah, whose social support network is a main reason for the loyalty it commands among Lebanon's Shiite Muslims, has promised to help Lebanese rebuild, pledging money for civilians to pay rent and buy furniture.
In other developments:
Israeli officials say a deal reportedly reached by Lebanese Prime Minister Fuad Saniora and Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah allowing Hizbullah to keep its weapons but refrain from exhibiting them in public violates the U.N. cease-fire resolution.
"There has to be pressure on Hezbollah to disarm or there will have to be another round," an official in the prime minister's office said.
Israel has said it would continue its blockade of Lebanese ports but was no longer threatening to shoot any car that moved on roads south of the Litani.
French Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy called on Israel Wednesday to lift is air, naval and land blockade of Lebanon.
The diplomatic maneuvers came as the Israeli army withdrew more of its troops from southern Lebanon while Lebanese troops prepared to move across the Litani River on Thursday to take control of the war-ravaged region from Hezbollah guerrillas.
In a sign of lingering danger in south Lebanon, security officials said an explosive detonated Wednesday in the town of Nabatiyeh, killing a 20-year-old man. Meanwhile, rescue workers pulled dozens of bodies from the rubble of destroyed buildings in Lebanese border towns.
The international force, which will be bolstered by 15,000 troops from Lebanon, will police the cease-fire between Israel and Hezbollah fighters that ended 34 days of fighting on Monday.
The U.N. hopes 3,500 international troops can reinforce a 2,000-strong U.N. contingent already on the ground within 10 to 15 days to help consolidate the cease-fire and create conditions for Israeli forces to head home, Assistant U.N. Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Hedi Annabi said.
Those plans, however, depend on the Lebanese government giving the order for its army to move south of the Litani. The Cabinet had been unable to meet on the issue since the cease-fire because of divisions over what should be done about Hezbollah's arms in the south. It scheduled a meeting for late Wednesday afternoon, the office of Prime Minister Fuad Saniora said.
Ali Hassan Khalil, a legislator who held talks with Saniora Wednesday on behalf of the Hezbollah, said "everyone was keen on having consensus."
The arrangement taking shape among Lebanese politicians, military officials and Hezbollah would call for guerrillas to not carry weapons or use their heavily fortified bunkers to fire rockets. There would be no requirement to move weapons north of the Litani, for the time being.
Douste-Blazy and his Turkish counterpart, Abdullah Gul, arrived in Beirut for talks early Wednesday. A delegation of the 56-country Organization of the Islamic Conference also traveled to Beirut by land from Syria. It was led by Malaysia's foreign minister, Syed Hamid Albar, and Pakistan's top diplomat, Khursheed Kasuri.
France was expected to lead the international force. The Italian foreign minister has already visited Beirut and pledged as many as 3,000 troops. Indonesia and a dozen other countries have expressed a willingness to help.
However, it remained unclear how quickly a full force could be deployed. The process involves three armies on the ground and is complicated, given that the Lebanese and Israeli armies do not have direct contact and a third and central player — Hezbollah guerrillas — will not be involved.
In the meantime, the 2,000-strong U.N. peacekeeping force known as UNIFIL that has been in southern Lebanon for more than two decades was to temporarily take up positions along the border.
The zone along the frontier would then be handed to Lebanese troops and the greatly reinforced UNIFIL force once all Israeli soldiers have withdrawn, U.N. officials said on condition of anonymity because of the delicate nature of the operations.
"It will be a gradual withdrawal. ... It will take couple of days, even up to one week," a UNIFIL officer told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to reporters. "We agreed with the Lebanese army that it will start deploying as the Israelis start withdrawing. It could be as early as Thursday, maybe a slight delay."
Displaced Lebanese, meanwhile, jammed the main coastal road to the south Wednesday as they headed home to scenes of near total destruction. Many cars had mattresses strapped on their roofs, and some passengers waved Hezbollah flags and pictures of the group's leader, Sheik Hassan Nasrallah. Some young men handed out bumper stickers with Hezbollah propaganda.
At least 810 people were killed in Lebanon during the 34-day campaign, most of them civilians. Israel suffered 157 dead — including 118 soldiers.