World

West Bank Pullout On Hold

August 18, 2006 / 7:14 AM EDT / CBS/AP

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has put his plans for a unilateral pullout from much of the West Bank on hold for now, but has not abandoned the idea altogether, a top Olmert aide said Friday, confirming a newspaper report.

The Haaretz daily said Olmert told Cabinet ministers this week that in light of the Israel-Hezbollah war, the pullout was no longer his top priority.

"This is what the prime minister said," Olmert aide Asaf Shariv said, referring to the Haaretz newspaper report. "Right now, we will deal with other issues. It's not that it (the pullout) was canceled, but it is not on the agenda."

In other developments:

Israeli soldiers returning from the war in Lebanon are complaining they were hindered by short supplies, a lack of information, poor training and untested equipment.

It could take time for the people of Lebanon and the world to realize that Hezbollah lost its war with Israel, President Bush said Friday. "Sometimes it takes people awhile to come to the sober realization of what forces create stability and what don't. Hezbollah is a force of instability."

The Lebanese army is extending its control of South Lebanon, and in some places has moved all the way to the border with Israel, reports CBS News correspondent Robert Berger. About 4,500 Lebanese troops have already deployed, and more units are joining them as the force builds up to an eventual 15,000.

Israel should have no role in deciding which countries make up the expanded U.N. peacekeeping force that is expected to be deployed to Lebanon within days, the head of largest Islamic organization of countries said Friday. "We're going to be on Lebanese territory ... We're not going to be on Israeli territory," said Malaysia's Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar upon return from Lebanon.

French Defense Minister Michele Alliot-Marie on Friday defended France's decision to send just 200 additional troops to reinforce the U.N. peacekeeping force in Lebanon, and reiterated that the force needs a clear mandate to operate effectively. "France has said they will send some troops. We hope they send more," said President Bush.

Meanwhile, Italy's government formally agreed Friday to send about 3,000 troops to Lebanon, reports CBS News correspondent Sabina Castelfranco, and Finland's government formally decided to send up to 250 peacekeepers to Lebanon, but not until November.

Israel has complained to Russia that Russian-made anti-tank missiles have reached Hezbollah guerrillas who used them against Israeli troops in south Lebanon, government officials said Friday.

Israeli soldiers shot dead two Palestinian militants during an arrest raid Friday, while three more Palestinians were killed elsewhere in the West Bank while mishandling explosives, officials said.

Olmert was elected on a platform of getting Israel out of most of the West Bank, reports Berger, but after Israel's war with Hezbollah it's no longer on the top of the agenda. Support in Israel for unilateral moves is dwindling after troops waged war this summer in Lebanon and Gaza, territories Israel left on its own, without a peace deal. Opposition leader Benjamin Netanyahu has warned that a West Bank pullout will bring rockets on Jerusalem and Tel Aviv.

"Right now, we will put our efforts and focus on other things," Shariv said.

Housing Minister Meir Shetreet said he also believed the pullout was being frozen. "It is my assessment the prime minister will not deal with this (the West Bank pullout) in the coming period, because it's really not on the agenda," told Israel Army Radio.

"I cannot say that the prime minister has dropped the plan. I don't think he has reached such a conclusion," said Shetreet, who opposes a unilateral pullout and favors trying to reach a peace deal with the Palestinians. Shetreet is a member of Olmert's Kadima Party.

The U.N. force's composition is for the U.N. and the Lebanese government to decide, not Israel, Syed Hamid said.

A fragile cease-fire remains in place between Israel and Hezbollah fighters in the days since it was declared.

On Thursday, the United Nations got pledges of 3,500 troops for the force, with Bangladesh — another OIC member — making the largest offer of up to 2,000 troops.

There remains no firm date for the deployment of peacekeepers.

The U.N. cease-fire resolution called for the force to keep the peace and disarm Hezbollah fighters south of the Litani River.

However, the Lebanese government adopted a mandate Wednesday that requires confiscation of Hezbollah arms only if carried in public. It said nothing about the network of Hezbollah rocket bunkers across the 18-mile stretch between the river and the Israeli border.

Israel is disappointed that the force has no intention of disarming Hezbollah, reports Berger, and that's why many Israelis are convinced that the next war is just a matter of time.

At least 845 Lebanese were killed in the 34-day war: 743 civilians, 34 soldiers and 68 Hezbollah. Israel says it killed about 530 guerrillas. On the Israeli side, 157 were killed — 118 soldiers and 39 civilians, many from the 3,970 Hezbollah rocket strikes. The figures were compiled by The Associated Press, mostly from government officials on both sides.