Report: Israel to evacuate Ghajar within 3 months

Lebanese daily quotes sources close to UNIFIL as saying Israel expected to withdraw from disputed village within three months after receiving guarantee area will be controlled by UN peacekeepers
Roee Nahmias

Sources close to UNIFIL said Israel is expected to withdraw from the northern part of the disputed village of Ghajar, which is located on the international border between Lebanon and the Golan Heights, within the next three months.

Disputed Village

Report: Israel ready to evacuate Ghajar, Shebaa Farms / Roee Nahmias

London-based al-Sharq al-Awsat newspaper reports UNIFIL commander promised Defense Minister Barak that northern part of disputed Golan Heights village will be subject to peacekeepers' control. 'Withdrawing from Shebaa Farms will pull the rug from under Nasrallah's legs,' Israeli official quoted as saying

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The Lebanese daily Al-Mustaqbal quoted the sources as saying Friday that UNIFIL has prepared a report on the expected deployment of its forces ahead of a possible Israeli pullout. The report was relayed to the Lebanese and Israeli governments.

According to the sources, an Israeli withdrawal from Ghajar would constitute the implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1701.

The London-based Arabic-language newspaper al-Sharq al-Awsat reported that Jerusalem recently conveyed a message to Washington, stating that Israel is ready to leave Ghajar after receiving a written guarantee from the Beirut government, through the UNIFIL headquarters, that the area will be controlled by the United Nations peacekeepers in terms of security and administration.

Arab media outlets reported this week that Israel was also willing to withdraw from the Shebaa Farms, also located on the Israel-Lebanon border.

According to a Lebanese source, UNIFIL Commander General Claudio Graziano held a series of meetings with senior Israeli officials and managed to convince them that Lebanon is serious about the matter and that his organization is committed to it.