Israel Won't Discuss Har Dov Withdrawal

Israeli diplomatic officials said Tuesday there was nothing to talk about. "This should not be part of the equation," one diplomatic official said.

Israeli diplomatic officials said there was nothing to discuss and that the UN itself had determined that the area was part of Israeli-occupied Syria, an issue that needed to be settled with Syria, not Lebanon.

"We cannot give up this area to Lebanon, since it is not part of Lebanon," one official said.

The area, a 100 square mile parcel of land, is located at the foot of Mount Hermon where the Syrian, Lebanese and Israeli borders meet. Israel took control of the area after the Six Day War in 1967, and since then has built up a number of military outposts on the strategic hills.

Last year Roed-Larsen, who is the UN special envoy on implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1559, issued a report saying that "the Shaba Farms area is not part of Lebanon. Therefore, any Lebanese 'resistance' to 'liberate' the area from continued Israeli occupation cannot be considered legitimate."