JERUSALEM - The Israeli army plans to withdraw from southern Lebanon in as little as seven to 10 days and to hand over some of its forward positions to UN troops within 48 hours, Israeli officials said on Tuesday. The expedited timetable reflects growing concern that Israeli forces will become easy targets for Hezbollah the longer they stay.Israeli officials said plans call for the UN force, known as UNIFIL, to be deployed on Wednesday and Thursday in some Israeli positions that are not seen by the army as strategically crucial. UNIFIL already has a small presence in Lebanon. At the same time, Israeli officials said, the Lebanese army should begin deploying to the Litani river, approximately 20 km (12 miles) from the Israeli border, and then slowly move southward as the Israeli army pulls back.
| Might as well ask the mighty Uruguayans to do the job. |
Uri Bar-Joseph, a professor of international relations at Haifa University, said that with a UN-brokered ceasefire in place since Monday, Israel’s army had little choice. “We cannot clear this area of Hezbollah fighters and waiting another two or three weeks for an international force will mean more Israeli soldiers will die,” Bar-Joseph said.