Lebanese President Emile Lahoud yesterday refused the deployment of a
multi-national force in southern Lebanon.
In an interview with a British TV channel, he said Lebanon wanted the UN
peace-keeping troops currently stationed in Lebanon to be reinforced rather than
the deployment of a multi-national force. He also said Lebanon would refuse to
accept any force not sent under UN commander.
He demanded again Israel's immediate withdrawal, saying the Lebanon-Israel
conflict would not stop as long as Israeli forces remained in Lebanon.
The root reason for the current crisis is that Israel has refused to return
Shebaa Farms to Lebanon or put them under UN jurisdiction, he said.
The president criticized Washington for taking sides with Israel, saying the
UN Security Council draft resolution, sponsored by the United States and France,
was unfair.
Lahoud said any resolutions on the issue should include the seven-point
proposal passed by the Lebanese government, adding that as long as the proposal
was put into practice, the Lebanese people could reach an agreement on anything.
Shebaa Farms, a collection of 14 farms dotting the western slopes of Mount
Hermon, cover an area of around 10 square kilometers. Israel occupied southern
Lebanon for 18 years and partially withdrew its troops in 2000. But Israel
remained in the Shebaa Farms area, which it seized in the 1967 Arab-Israeli war.
Lebanese Prime Minister Fuad Siniora put forward the seven-point proposal at
an international conference on the Israel-Lebanon issue in Rome on July 26,
demanding Israel's immediate cease-fire and withdrawal. It also called for
exchanges of prisoners of war and asked Israel to hand jurisdiction of Shebaa
Farms to the United Nations.
The conflict between Israel and Lebanon's Hezbollah erupted on July 12 when
Israel started a retaliatory military offensive after Hezbollah staged an
incursion into Israeli territory, killing several soldiers and seizing two
others.
Around 1,000 Lebanese and more than 100 Israelis have been killed in the
conflict.
