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US, UN Welcome Israeli Ghajar Withdrawal Plan

   VOA News 18 November 2010
   A  resident walks in the village of Ghajar on the border with Lebanon,
   northern Israel, 17 Nov 2010

Photo: AP

   A  resident walks in the village of Ghajar on the border with Lebanon,
   northern Israel, 17 Nov 2010

   The  United  States and United Nations have welcomed Israel's decision
   to  withdraw  troops  from part of a village that was divided a decade
   ago between Israel and Lebanon.

   Israel's  security  cabinet  approved the plan Wednesday. It calls for
   Israeli  troops  to pull out from the northern part of Ghajar and hand
   over  control  of  the  area to UNIFIL, the U.N. peacekeeping force in
   southern Lebanon.

   The  U.S.  State  Department said it encourages Israel and the U.N. to
   implement the plan quickly in order to protect the rights of civilians
   in the area.

   A  spokesman  for  U.N.  Secretary-General  Ban  ki-Moon  said Mr. Ban
   "commends  all  sides"  for  their  commitment to a 2006 U.N. Security
   Council  resolution that called for the withdrawal. The U.N. also said
   it  will  work  closely  with  all  parties to permanently resolve the
   status of Ghajar.

   Israeli  government  officials  say the withdrawal could take place in
   the coming weeks, following consultations with UNIFIL.

   News  of  the  pullout upset some Ghajar residents, who voiced concern
   that  Israel's withdrawal could further divide the village or threaten
   security  in  the  tense  border  region. Israel and Lebanon are still
   officially at war.

   Israel  first  captured Ghajar from Syria in the 1967 Middle East war.
   But  after  Israel  withdrew  from  southern Lebanon in 2000, the U.N.
   split control control of the town, giving the north to Lebanon and the
   south  to  Israel.  In  the  2006  conflict  with  Lebanon's Hezbollah
   militia,  Israel  re-occupied  the  northern section, and has retained
   control of the area.

   A  United  Nations Security Council resolution that ended the conflict
   calls for Israel to remove its troops. The village has 2,200 residents
   and  more  than  1,500  of them live in the northern part. Most of the
   villagers hold dual Syrian and Israeli citizenship.
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