BEIRUT, Lebanon, May 8 (UPI) -- Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora is pursuing a new diplomatic offensive to force Israel to withdraw from the Shabaa farms. This move, the prime minister believes, will extend Lebanon's sovereignty over the occupied area while at the same time strip Hezbollah of any pretext to pursue its anti-Israeli resistance which Syria sponsors and Iran backs.
When asked in an interview with United Press International whether the liberation of Shabaa -- possibly by diplomatic means -- would see Hezbollah losing its main argument for maintaining its arms, Siniora replied: "Yes."
Initially, as many anti-Syrian Lebanese officials argued, such a move would weaken Syria's hand -- it was using Shabaa to maintain its grip on Lebanon and boost its chances in any future peace accord with Israel.
This would be only possible if the United States, the United Nations and other influential international players back Siniora's diplomatic approach. The Lebanese prime minister, however, was quick to say his efforts were not directly targeting Syria or any party in Lebanon.
Trying to force Israel out of the Shabaa farms by diplomatic means was "not a hostile action against any party. It is not a hostile action against Syria," Siniora told UPI before traveling to London on Sunday.
"On the contrary, Lebanon is pursuing an action that serves itself, Syria and the Arab world. Therefore, there is no contradiction," he said.
Israel refused to relinquish the border area of Shabaa farms when it ended its 22-year occupation and withdrew its troops from south Lebanon in May 2000. The U.N., which confirmed Israel's pullout, ruled that Israel seized the Shabaa farms from Syria during the 1967 war -- an argument rejected by the Lebanese government and Hezbollah.
The Shabaa issue has been the subject of heated debate in Lebanon since Syria's pullout from the country last year, and became more prominent when the U.N. Security Council adopted Resolution 1559, which calls for the disarming of all Lebanese and non-Lebanese militias and demanded that the Lebanese government extend its authority over all Lebanese territories; the issues covered in the resolution formed the core of an ongoing Lebanese political dialogue.
Siniora said that once Shabaa was confirmed to be Lebanese through a process that would involve Syria and the U.N., Israel would have to withdraw from it and this would be "a step on the road for Lebanon to achieve complete sovereignty... In the meantime, Lebanon would be building a strategy to defend Lebanon, a strategy that Lebanese would agree upon."
Hezbollah was pushing for such a strategy to protect Lebanon against any possible future Israeli aggressions -- even after regaining control of Shabaa -- as part of any discussions targeting its disarmament.
The key point, according to Siniora, is how to coordinate the diplomatic efforts on all fronts to enable Lebanon to extend its complete authority over all its territory, including the Shabaa farms, and whereby no group, except the national army be allowed to retain their weapons.
Asked whether there has so far been any positive response from the western countries regarding his diplomatic efforts, Siniora said: "The contacts we are holding allow the other parties to listen to our point of view. Therefore, we should make progress. I believe (there is progress), but nothing yet concrete on the ground."
But what would happen if Israel does not bow to diplomatic pressures and remain in Shabaa?
"Hezbollah weapons still exist," Siniora said.
Siniora's other diplomatic efforts to normalize strained relations with neighboring Syria have so far failed.
The Lebanese prime minister was still waiting for a green light from Syria to visit Damascus to discuss issues such as border demarcation, arms smuggling into Lebanon and exchanging diplomatic representation. Siniora has so far been shunned by Syrian officials, who appear uneasy about dealing with him on the basis that he represents an anti-Syrian political movement in Lebanon.
Lebanese-Syrian relations sharply deteriorated following the assassination of Lebanon's former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri in a powerful explosion that targeted his convoy in Beirut on Feb. 14, 2005. A U.N. investigation has suggested Syrian and Lebanese officers were involved in Hariri's killing.
Siniora, a long-time close aide to Hariri, emphasized that he was eager to preserve "strong ties" between Lebanon and Syria, but wanted Lebanon to be respected as a sovereign and independent country.
"We will not change even if the meeting (with the Syrians) takes years, and I am not saying that it will take years," he said, confident that "with calm, wisdom and firmness," Lebanon would be able to engage in talks with Syria about border demarcation and exchanging ambassadors -- issues that Damascus seems unready to discuss or accept for the time being.
Efforts by Saudi Arabia and Egypt to smooth the way for a rapprochement between Syria and Lebanon have so far failed.
"We need to encourage such good-will initiatives. If they haven't yet achieved results, it doesn't mean they won't," Siniora said. "The most important is to revive relations with Syria. We have made a separation between the ongoing U.N. investigation into Hariri's assassination and the relations with Damascus."
The fear that Lebanon would be affected by the developments in the region, especially in Iraq and Iran, is a real and key Lebanese concern.
But the difficult task is "to prevent Lebanon from becoming a ball in others' playfield or becoming a playfield for the others," as Siniora concluded.
