Minister of Foreign Affairs David Levy is slated to meet today with UN
Secretary General Kofi Annan in Geneva to discuss Israel's plans for
withdrawal from Lebanon, MA'ARIV reported.
Foreign Ministry officials said on Monday that Israel is interested in
securing international cooperation in delineating the border, as well as in
establishing an effective security mechanism to prevent an escalation of
tension.
At a joint press conference with U.S. Secretary of Defense William Cohen
on Monday, Barak said, "We will redeploy to the international border, and we
will protect Israel and its interests from within these borders. I believe
that if there is a will to solve this problem, a solution will be found in
cooperation with UNIFIL (United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon) and the UN
Security Council." Cohen said that if an international force is deployed
along the Israeli-Lebanese border, he does not think that the United States
will be a part of it.
According to HA'ARETZ, Annan, in cooperation with the French government,
is working to replace Resolution 425 with a new resolution, in an attempt to
adjust the international force's mandate in Lebanon to meet the conditions
of a post withdrawal situation. UN Secretary General in charge of Peace
Keeping Forces Bernard Maya is expected to commence discussions this week
with Security Council members regarding the deployment of an international
force in Lebanon.