DATE=4/27/2000
TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
TITLE=ISRAEL / LEBANON (L-ONLY)
NUMBER=2-261767
BYLINE=ROSS DUNN
DATELINE=JERUSALEM
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
INTRO: United Nations Special Envoy Terje Larsen has
begun a tour of the Middle East to discuss Israel's
planned troop withdrawal from southern Lebanon. Ross
Dunn reports that Mr. Larsen is in Jerusalem to
meet/has met with Israeli Prime Minister, Ehud Barak.
TEXT: Mr. Larsen has been dispatched to the Middle
East by U-N Secretary General Kofi Annan to discuss
Israel's plan to pull its troops out of a self-
declared security zone in southern Lebanon.
One of the key issues on the agenda is the future of
the U-N Interim Force in Lebanon, or UNIFIL, deployed
after Israel's 1978 incursion against Palestinian
guerrilla groups.
Mr. Annan has said the existing four-thousand-500
strong UNIFIL force may have to be strengthened to
fill the vacuum left by the departing Israelis.
There are fears that Israel's withdrawal without a
peace agreement with Syria, the main power broker in
Lebanon, could lead to more attacks against
communities along the northern border of the Jewish
State by dissident Palestinian groups and the militant
Muslim guerrilla movement, Hezbollah.
Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak has warned that his
military will react harshly to any such attacks during
or after a troop withdrawal.
The prime minister discussed the planned pullback with
members of his security cabinet, which consists of top
officials in his government. Senior members of the
Israeli military also attended Thursday's meeting.
The director-general of the Israeli Defense Ministry,
Amos Yaron, says it will cost 250-million dollars to
implement the first stage of the troop pullback.
This amount does not include the cost of relocating
members of the Israeli-backed Lebanese militia, the
South Lebanese Army, or S-L-A.
Israel plans to offer refuge to members of the S-L-A
and their families, who wish to leave the area
following a troop withdrawal. (Signed)
NEB/RD/GE/JP
27-Apr-2000 10:43 AM EDT (27-Apr-2000 1443 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
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