The Israeli military pledged Wednesday night to immediately rectify any border infringements, which have delayed the planned deployment of UNIFIL and Lebanese army troops throughout south Lebanon, reported The Jerusalem Post.
The promise was made during a meeting between Israeli general Gaby Ashkenazi and UN Middle East envoy Terje Larsen.
The meeting followed an inspection by Larsen of disputed points along the border, said the daily.
As Larsen tried to resolve the remaining issues, an Israeli soldier was lightly wounded in the head by rocks hurled across the border, added the daily.
The incident, which further underlined the potential for a flare-up, occurred while the soldier was on duty just north of Misgav Am settlement, where work is continuing on constructing a new security fence.
Following the meeting, Larsen returned to Lebanon to re-examine a site near Menara kibbutz, where the UN and Lebanese inspection teams have determined that an Israeli installation encroaches on Lebanese territory, said the daily.
It was understood that the matter would be rectified in Larsen's presence, thereby paving the way for him to announce that all the violations had been corrected and UNIFIL, with the approval of the Lebanese government, will be able to deploy to the border.
It is not clear, however, when the deployment will take place, given the last-minute objections raised by the Lebanese government after the UN announcement earlier this week that Israel had withdrawn fully from Lebanese territory, according to the daily.
Larsen told reporters in Israel that he is hopeful the remaining border violations would be rectified within a matter of hours and that the proposed deployment of UNIFIL and the Lebanese army could go ahead soon after, said the daily - Albawaba.com
© 2000 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
