BEIRUT, Lebanon, Nov. 19 (UPI) -- The international community welcomed an Israeli decision to leave parts of Lebanon, though Beirut said it still had reservations.
The commander of the U.N. Interim Force in Lebanon said Israeli military leaders agreed "in principle" to the mission's proposal to facilitate the withdrawal of the Israeli military from northern Ghajar.
Israel under U.N. Security Council Resolution 1701 is obligated to abandon its Lebanese positions. The United Nations drew the so-called Blue Line through Ghajar, leaving parts of the village split between the countries.
The resolution also calls on Hezbollah to give up its weapons in favor of a political role. Lebanese lawmakers backing the Shiite resistance movement told state media that the Israeli agreement still meant U.N. forces would control the area and complained it was a pretext meant to address Hezbollah's arsenal.
Michael Williams, the U.N. special envoy to Lebanon, said in a statement that he welcomed the Israeli decision, "but I also warned that progress made so far could be undermined if the parties do not couple their reassertions of support with further concrete steps."
Lebanon Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri was quoted Thursday by Hezbollah's al-Manar news service as saying the Israeli decision was no reason to relax.
"Pending a unified Lebanese stance on how to deal with the Israeli move and read the dimensions and timing (of the plan), we will keep echoing the same thing from Ghajar that the Resistance will remain a national need," he said.
