Israel may ease Lebanon blockade

BEIRUT - Israel said yesterday it could gradually dismantle its blockade of Lebanon as Lebanese and UN forces control entry points to stop Hizbollah rearming, and the UN commander in the south said a breakthrough could be close.

UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, who was in Ankara for talks on Turkey's contribution to a bigger UNIFIL peacekeeping force in Lebanon, has tried to orchestrate a deal to end an 8-week-blockade that Lebanon sees as collective punishment.

"We don't have a problem with a graduated lifting of the restrictions or with the idea that the restrictions would be lifted in an incremental fashion," Israeli foreign ministry spokesman Mark Regev told Reuters.

"When they are ready, we will be ready. It doesn't have to be all or nothing. We can move on specific places," he said.

Asked if those places might include Beirut airport or harbours, he said: "I think we are working towards that goal."

Annan, who is due to report to the Security Council shortly on progress towards implementing Resolution 1701 that halted Israel's 34-day war with Hizbollah, said on Tuesday he hoped to receive word on the lifting of the blockade within two days.

"I have the feeling that it is coming closer," UNIFIL commander Major-General Alain Pellegrini told France's Europe 1 radio when asked when the embargo could be lifted.

"I think the United Nations and the contributing countries are able to react very quickly," Pellegrini added.

A Lebanese political source has said the first step would be for Israel to end its control over flights in and out of Beirut.

The Lebanese government would then immediately ask the United Nations to help patrol its coast. French, Italian and Greek naval ships would deploy offshore as an interim measure, paving the way for Israel to release its grip on Lebanese ports.

German vessels would later take over the maritime patrols.

French Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy reiterated that France was ready to help monitor Lebanon's coast. "If (the Beirut government) wants us to help, we can do that," he said.

Shaky truce

Pellegrini said the truce in Lebanon remained shaky.

"It remains fragile as far as there is an Israeli presence in Lebanon because every incident, misunderstanding or provocation can escalate very quickly," he said.

Pellegrini's spokesman, Alexander Ivanko, said UNIFIL had sent a written protest to Israel on Tuesday over Israeli infringements of Lebanese airspace and other truce violations.

Israel says the main truce violation is Hizbollah's failure to release two soldiers it captured on July 12. The Shi'ite Muslim guerrillas have said from the outset the soldiers will only be freed in return for Lebanese prisoners held in Israel.

"The continued holding of our two servicemen in Lebanon is a violation of 1701 and a very significant violation," Regev said. "That resolution, which is now nearly four weeks old, clearly calls for their immediate and unconditional release."

The Israeli army still holds some border pockets it seized during the war, but has gradually been handing them to UNIFIL, which then turns them over to the Lebanese army.

Annan has said Israel should complete its pullout once 5,000 UNIFIL troops are on the ground. The force now numbers 3,100.

Asked when Annan's target would be met, Ivanko said: "We are looking good for mid-September or the third week of September."

He said 200 French troops were due in Beirut at the weekend to prepare for the arrival next week of 700 members of a battalion armed with main battle tanks and 155-mm artillery.

A Spanish battalion was expected to follow them, but Ivanko had no date for its arrival.

Israel has also pressed for UN forces to deploy on Lebanon's border with Syria, the main conduit in the past for Hizbollah weapons supplies. But Lebanon, whose consent is needed, has said it will only seek technical assistance.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov voiced support for the Beirut government's stance.

"We are inclined to support the position of Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora who has repeatedly said that they will decide this question themselves and that at the present time the presence of UN peacekeepers on this border is not essential," he told Rossiiskaya Gazeta newspaper.

- REUTERS