U.N. to press Israel on Lebanon border village

Reuters ^ | May 4, 2009 | Nadim Ladki

[forkinsocket]

BEIRUT (Reuters) - A senior United Nations official said Monday he would travel to Israel soon to seek an early Israeli withdrawal from parts of a village on the border with Lebanon in line with a Security Council resolution.

An Israeli government official said Sunday Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu favoured an Israeli withdrawal from the Lebanese parts of Ghajar village and would discuss the issue with his cabinet ministers this week.

Alain Le Roy, U.N. under secretary-general, said during a visit to a south Lebanon base of the U.N. peacekeeping force, UNIFIL, that Israel was obliged to withdraw from the northern part of Ghajar by Resolution 1701 that ended a 34-day war between Israel and Lebanon's Hezbollah in 2006.

He said UNIFIL was pursuing agreement on a proposal it had submitted to Israel and Lebanon last year to secure the pull out but that no date for the withdrawal had yet been set.

"In the next few days I will be travelling to Israel and I intend to press on the Israeli government officials the importance of finding an early resolution on this issue," Le Roy said.

"We are hopeful that we will soon reach an understanding on the UNIFIL proposal that will facilitate Israel's withdrawal from the area as required by Resolution 1701."

[forkinsocket]

.