Israel could stay in Lebanon for months: Army chief

Jerusalem, Aug 16: Israel is prepared to keep troops in southern Lebanon for months if it takes that long for an international force to deploy, Israel's army chief was quoted on Wednesday as telling a parliamentary committee.

Israel Radio said an army intelligence officer told the committee it would take weeks for a large contingent of a UN force known as UNIFIL to arrive in southern Lebanon, prompting Lieutenant-General Dan Halutz to say: ''Israel will leave forces in Lebanon until the multinational force arrives, even if it takes months.'' The United Nations said yesterday it wants to deploy up to 3,500 new soldiers within two weeks to oversee a fragile truce and Israel's withdrawal from southern Lebanon.

The UN Security Council last Friday unanimously adopted a resolution calling for a truce in the one-month war between Israel and Hizbollah guerrillas. It authorised up to 13,000 well-armed troops to augment the 2,000-strong UNIFIL now in Lebanon, for a total of 15,000.

Halutz said yesterday Israeli forces, estimated to number under 30,000, could complete their withdrawal within 7 to 10 days. His reported remarks on Wednesday were made to a closed session of parliament's Foreign Affairs and Defence Committee.

The truce to end fighting began early Monday and has largely held. At least 1,110 people in Lebanon and 157 people in Israel died in the war that began after Hizbollah seized two Israeli soldiers in a cross-border raid on July 12.

Reuters

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