PM Olmert Agrees to a Multinational Force Along Northern Border

Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has agreed to a US plan calling for the deployment of an international peacekeeping force along Israel?s border.

Following an almost two-hour meeting in his Jerusalem residence with US Secretary of State Dr. Condoleezza Rice on Saturday night, the prime minister agreed to the US plan, calling for the deployment of a multinational force between Israel and Lebanon and Syria. It was announced that France and Lebanon would take part in the force, but other details have yet to be decided upon.

According to reports following the high-level meeting, the size of the force and the timing for such a move must still be agreed upon, but Olmert has given his approval to the idea of such a force being positioned between Israel and Hezbollah in southern Lebanon.

Secretary Rice will leave for Lebanon on Sunday, and she will return to Israel following talks with officials in Beirut as she continues her shuttle diplomacy mission in the hope of actualizing a ceasefire.

The US-brokered plan includes yet another land withdrawal by Israel ? stipulating the international ?stabilization force? will position itself between Israel and southern Lebanon in exchange for an Israeli retreat from the Har Dov area, also known as Shab?a Farm. The area today has a vital strategic significance, permitting IDF troops to man outposts along the border area.

The prime minister has indicated a willingness to consider an additional land withdrawal. This despite Israel?s compliance with the demands of the international community in its May 2000 withdrawal from southern Lebanon, a move that even earned the recognition of the United Nations. Nevertheless, Olmert signaled a possible willingness to such the move in line with Lebanese demands, despite the fact that Har Dov was liberated from Syrian occupation, not Lebanon.