UN pressing Israel to withdraw from Ghajjar in southern Lebanon

Beirut - The United Nations is trying to persuade Israel to withdraw its troops from Ghajjar village in southern Lebanon, a Lebanese government source said Tuesday. 'Members of the Lebanese and Israeli armies along with a senior UN official will meet on Wednesday at the Naquora crossing point to discuss the issue of Ghajjar village,' the source said. Alain le Roy, UN under secretary-general for peacekeeping affairs, who is currently visiting Lebanon, will be present at the meeting in Naquora, a border area between Israel and Lebanon, the source said. According to a UN source, le Roy visited Ghajjar on Monday. He also met on Tuesday with Lebanese President Michel Suleiman and Prime Minister Fouad Seniora. The UN official is scheduled to visit Israel on Thursday. Since its 33-day attack on Lebanon in 2006, Israel has maintained a military presence in the northern part of Ghajjar, which lies on Lebanese soil, and built a security fence to prevent members of the Lebanese Shiite movement from infiltrating the village. The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), which is overseeing a fragile ceasefire between Lebanon and Israel, last year submitted a proposal to facilitate Israel's withdrawal from part of Ghajjar. The issue of Ghajjar came into the limelight after Israeli press reports over the weekend said that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu would announce a troop withdrawal from the village this week. Half of Ghajjar is on the Lebanese side of the 'blue line' which the United Nations drew after Israel evacuated southern Lebanon in June of 2000. Israel annexed Ghajjar in 1981 along with the occupied Golan Heights in a move that has not won international recognition. According to UN reports, the northern part of the village lies on Lebanese soil while the rest is part of occupied Syrian territory. Premier Seniora on Monday accused Israel of using Ghajjar to distract attention from its anger and embarrassment caused by Lebanese intelligence uncovering several Israeli spy networks. 'Lebanon will not be fooled by these claims,' the premier said. Lebanese authorities have arrested three more people on suspicion of spying for Israel, taking to 10 the number of alleged spies arrested since January, a security official said on Sunday. Two Lebanese men and a Palestinian were arrested on April 25 also on suspicion of spying for Israel. The authorities said they had linked them to a retired general arrested for spying earlier last month. Former brigadier general Adib al-Aalam was arrested along with his wife Hayat Saloumi and nephew Joseph al-Aalam and charged in April with espionage, a crime that carries the death penalty. The three are accused of informing Israel about Lebanese and Syrian military and civilian sites 'with the aim of facilitating Israeli attacks,' a judicial official said last month.