The Lebanese cabinet today approved a plan to deploy the army south of the Litani River to extend government authority over the region, a key provision of the UN ceasefire plan that ended 34 days of fighting between Israel and Hezbollah. But the decision left unclear what to do about Hezbollah’s presence and weapons in the region bordering Israel. It was widely believed, however, that the army did not plan to actively disarm the guerrillas but to allow Hezbollah fighters to store their weapons and lock up their bunkers. “The will be no confrontation between the army and brothers in Hezbollah. ... That is not the army’s mission. ... They are not going to chase and, God forbid, exact revenge (on Hezbollah),” said Information Minister Ghazi Aridi after the two-hour Cabinet meeting.| “The Cabinet session on implementing the ceasefire was twice delayed after it became effective on Monday because to Hezbollah members of the government objected to enforcement of the key UN demand that the guerrilla force be disarmed.” |
Israel had threatened to halt its withdrawal if the Lebanese force did not move south. Reading from a Cabinet statement, he said the army’s mission was “to defend the national territory, safeguard security ... and prevent any authority of any kind outside that of the Lebanese state.” The government ordered the army to “insure respect” for the Blue Line, the UN-demarcated border between Lebanon and Israel, and “apply the existing laws with regard to any weapons outside the authority of the Lebanese state.”