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.
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 Hizbollah the longer they stay. But questions remain over the make-up, size and mandate of the UN force that is supposed to move in to preserve a fragile truce.
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.
In Lebanon, a senior political source said the Lebanese army would begin its deployment south of the Litani river on Thursday. But he said army units would be deployed only after Israeli soldiers handed over their posts to UN peacekeepers.
Israel's top general, Dan Halutz, said "if it goes calmly as things appear now" Israeli forces could complete a handover to U.N. forces in southern Lebanon in seven to 10 days.
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 Hizbollah fighters and waiting another two or three weeks for an international force will mean more Israeli soldiers will die," Bar-Joseph said.
The cost of the war
Lebanon and Israel counted their losses from 34 days of fighting. Here are some facts about the losses on each side
IN LEBANON
Casualties: Around 1,110 dead and 3,700 wounded, the vast majority of them civilians. The toll includes 35 Lebanese soldiers and police.
Displaced: More than 9,00,000 Lebanese fled their homes.
Economy: Lebanon’s Council of Development and Reconstruction put bomb damage at $2.5 billion.
Environment: 10,000-15,000 tonnes of heavy fuel oil spilled onto Lebanon’s coast after a power station was bombed in the south of Beirut, causing the biggest ecological crisis in the country’s history.
IN ISRAEL
Casualties: 157 dead, of which 40 were civilians.
Economy: The Bank of Israel has put economic damage in lost tourism and industrial activity at $1.5 billion, or up to 1 per cent of projected gross domestic product.
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