Israel Gives UN Maps Of Minefields In Southern Lebanon (But Still Occupy Lebanon)

Israel Gives UN maps Of Minefields In Southern Lebanon
Haaretz 11.10.06, By The Associated Press

Israel has provided maps of minefields it had laid in southern Lebanon, a move that falls in line with the United Nations cease-fire resolution that ended the Israel-Hezbollah fighting, a UN statement said yesterday.

Disclosing minefields has been one of the demands of the Lebanese government and Hezbollah guerrillas for years.

A statement issued by the UN Interim Force in Lebanon said Israel's army provided the maps to the peacekeepers at a meeting of Lebanese, UNIFIL and Israeli generals at the force's headquarters in the border town of Naqoura.

The statement said UNIFIL in turn handed over the maps to the UN Mine Action Coordination Center and the Lebanese army for review.

"The Israelis have said this should cover everything," Milos Strugar, senior adviser to the UNIFIL commander, told The Associated Press. But he withheld judgment pending the review.

The UN Security Council cease-fire resolution that ended the July 12 - August 14 fighting between Israel and Hezbollah called on Israel to provide maps of minefields.

Disclosing the locations of several hundred thousand mines that were laid during Israel's 1982-2000 occupation of a border zone in southern Lebanon has been one of the main demands of the Lebanese government and the Hezbollah guerrillas.

Israel twice previously provided maps - following the 2000 withdrawal and in 2004 as part of a prisoner swap with Hezbollah. But both the Lebanese government and Hezbollah repeatedly demanded that Israel give full disclosure on the matter.

Cluster bombs dropped by Israel in this summer's fighting present another concern. UN demining experts say up to 1 million unexploded cluster bombs could be in south Lebanon and said Israel has not responded to repeated requests to hand over detailed information about the cluster bomb strikes.

So far, 14 people have been killed and around 90 injured from unexploded cluster bombs since the cease-fire according to the UN.

Israeli forces pulled out of south Lebanon last week, also in line with the UN resolution. But the Israelis kept control of the Lebanese side of the divided border village of Ghajar. Discussions have since focused on returning that tiny piece of land to Lebanon.

Yesterday's UN statement said Lebanese, Israeli and UNIFIL officers discussed the situation around Ghajar "with a view of ensuring a speedy withdrawal" of Israeli forces from the area.

But the sides apparently did not reach an agreement yet.

"The meeting was productive and the main focus was to finalize the IDF withdrawal," said Brigadier General J.P. Nehra, the deputy UNIFIL commander, according to the statement.

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It is nice the Israeli government provided the maps to all those dropped cluster bombs. As stated in previous articles, Cluster bombs are dirty bombs, they are beautiful in design and in a child’s eyes look like a small ball/ marble (an incentive to pick them up). Although the cease-fire from the second war in Lebanon is in place, there will be more Lebanese civilians killed from these cluster bombs. Most of these bombs are embedded to the soiled and will be difficult to trace. The full disclosures of the maps are long overdue, going back to the first invasion of Lebanon by Israel in 1982.

At the same tile Israel is still occupying Lebanon and has not pulled out of the Shebaa farms area (one of the reasons) for the military side of Hizbullah. Hizbullah also need to release the two captured Israeli soldiers and Israel in turn will have to release all those captured from the 1982-2000 occupation of Lebanon. These people are rotting in Israeli jails.

Already the Lebanese army and UNIFIL have seized many Hezbullah weapons in South Lebanon but now that the war is over, if Isreal does not get out of the occupied lands then the country of Lebanon has a right to gight it.

“Hizbullah will resume its military campaign against Israel unless it withdraws from the disputed Shebaa farms area and other pockets of territory occupied during this summer’s 34-day war”, Nabih Berri, speaker of the Lebanese parliament, has warned.

“If Israel does not pull out we will have to drive them out,” said Mr Berri, who acted as a link to the militant organisation during this summer’s war with Israel, in an interview with the Guardian.

According to the Jerusalem Post (13.10.06) Lebanese Defense Minister Elias Murr said Friday that in another few months, the Lebanese army would be able to fire anti-aircraft missiles at any IAF planes flying over Lebanon.

In an interview with the London-based newspaper Al Hayat, Murr said the army had received clear instructions to fire at any aircraft that violated Lebanese airspace or infiltrated the country's skies without authorization.

He added that the government in Beirut submitted complaints of IAF overflights to the UN on a daily basis.