The Bush administration is pressing
Israel to withdraw from a sliver of territory claimed by Lebanon.
Officials said Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice discussed the case for Israeli withdrawal from Shebaa during her trip to Israel
earlier this month. After meeting Prime Minister Ariel Sharon on July 22,
Ms.Rice made an unscheduled one-day visit to Beirut to meet Siniora and
express
support for Lebanon in wake of the Syrian military withdrawal.
Lebanese officials said the administration has assured the new
government of Prime Minister Fuad Siniora that the United States would urge
Israel to withdraw from the Shebaa Plateau. The area was captured by Israel
in the 1967 war and the United Nations regards the area as Syrian territory, Middle East Newsline reported.
"Washington sees the Shebaa Plateau as containing the potential of
another Middle East crisis and the main excuse for Hizbullah's continued
presence," a Lebanese official said. "We have been given the impression that
results could be expected over the next year."
Members of Ms. Rice's delegation told Siniora that the administration
would demand a timetable for an Israeli withdrawal from Shebaa after the
unilateral pullout from the Gaza Strip and northern West Bank in August.
Lebanese officials said Sharon has agreed to consider the U.S. request.
Officials said the United States envisions a staged approach that would
ensure the restoration of Lebanese rule over southern Lebanon. The first
step would be an Israeli pledge to withdraw from Shebaa, the focus of
Hizbullah's insurgency campaign against the Jewish state.
In the next stage, the Lebanese military would be trained and equipped
for the deployment of troops in southern Lebanon. In the final stage,
Lebanese troops would enter Shebaa and deploy along the entire border with
Israel.
Hizbullah would then agree to withdraw from the area.
"The United States does not seek a [Lebanese] government showdown with
Hizbullah," a Lebanese official said. "Indeed, we were surprised by Rice's
tolerance of
a process in which Hizbullah would share power and either disarm or
consolidate with the Lebanese Army."
Siniora has requested U.S. aid to help reorganize and bolster the
Lebanese military. Officials said the Defense Ministry would identify
military requirements over the next few weeks and present a formal
request to Washington.
