United Nations – France and the United States reached a deal Friday on a final draft resolution that would authorize the deployment of 15,000 U.N. peacekeepers in south Lebanon to support a Lebanese force as it takes control of the region and Israel withdraws.
The draft, obtained by The Associated Press, would ask the U.N. force to monitor a full cessation of hostilities and help Lebanese forces gain control over an area that has previously been under de facto authority of Hezbollah militias.
It emphasizes the need for the “unconditional release” of two Israeli soldiers whose July 12 capture sparked the latest war, but does not make a direct demand for their freedom.
Additionally, it calls on Israel and Lebanon to agree to a long-term solution under which Hezbollah would be disarmed.
The Security Council was expected to vote on the draft later Friday.
About 2,000 U.N. troops and observers are now stationed in Lebanon. The draft would authorize an increase to a total of 15,000 troops.
The text of the draft does not specify which chapter of the U.N. Charter the force would be authorized under. Instead, it says the force’s mandate would include several elements: monitoring the cessation of hostilities, accompanying Lebanese troops as they deploy and as Israel withdraws, and ensuring humanitarian access.
The U.N. force, known by its acronym UNIFIL, would help coordinate the deployment of Lebanese forces to the south, which has been under de facto control of Hezbollah militias for years.
Israeli troops that have occupied the area in more than four weeks of fighting would then withdraw.
The new text was sent to the governments of Israel and Lebanon, but a French diplomat said the vote would go ahead whatever the response.
Israel, backed by the United States, is chiefly concerned that Hezbollah not be allowed to regain its strength in south Lebanon once a cessation of hostilities goes into effect. Washington has supported Israel’s insistence on staying in southern Lebanon until a robust international force is deployed.
Lebanese Prime Minister Fuad Saniora received a copy of the U.S.-French draft resolution, government officials said. He was studying the document and contacting politicians for their input, said the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter.
The officials refused to say whom Saniora was talking with, but the leading Lebanese Broadcasting Corp., said he was in touch with Hezbollah officials as well as parliament speaker Nabih Berri, Hezbollah’s de facto negotiator.
The announcement of the new text came after a morning of heated negotiations between senior diplomats, including Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, to accommodate concerns from both sides.
The latest draft appears to eliminate the prospect of a new, independent multinational force that would patrol a buffer zone between Israel and Lebanon.
A senior U.S. official in Washington, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the U.S. and France envision a 10-day time frame between the moment a halt to the hostilities is declared and when UNIFIL troops go into action in the south.
The deal also renders moot a Russian-proposed draft resolution calling for a blanket 72-hour humanitarian cease-fire in Lebanon.
Ambassador Vitaly Churkin had said he was increasingly impatient about the diplomatic efforts because the humanitarian crisis in Lebanon was reaching “catastrophic” proportions.
U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan also expressed frustration that the council had yet to take action.
“I think we’ve had enough discussions,” he said. “The issues have been discussed all around and it is time for decision, and I hope the council will take firm action today.” More than 800 people have died in the monthlong conflict, hundreds of Lebanese civilians and dozens of Israelis.
