UNIFIL sees final Israel pullout from Lebanon soon

BEIRUT, Oct 17 (Reuters) The acting chief of United Nations peacekeepers in Lebanon said after meeting senior Lebanese and Israeli army officers today that he expected Israel to complete its withdrawal from its neighbour soon.

''The meeting went very well,'' UNIFIL Acting Commander Brig Gen J P Nehra said in a statement.

''I think we have more or less closed all the gaps except for a few minor technical issues that should be finalised very soon and then I expect the (Israeli army) to complete their withdrawal from south Lebanon.'' Israel completed its withdrawal from all but one small part of southern Lebanon at the start of October. Its forces remain in the divided village of Ghajar, which straddles the border between Lebanon and territory Israel captured from Syria in the 1967 West Asia war.

UN Security Council resolution 1701, which ended a 34-day war between Israel and Hezbollah guerrillas in mid-August, requires Israel to fully withdraw from Lebanon.

Lebanese soldiers have deployed across southern Lebanon in place of Israeli troops as they withdrew and UNIFIL, in place since 1978, has boosted its numbers from around 2,000 before the war to some 5,200 since, to help maintain the truce.

Reuters BDP VV1848