Israelis Expected to Skip Next Round of Lebanon Withdrawal Negotiations

Israel will not send its delegation to the next scheduled session of military talks with Lebanon over an Israeli troop withdrawal from that country, well-placed government sources said Tuesday.

The decision on the Thursday session, which is expected to be formalized at a Cabinet meeting today, effectively suspends the negotiations while the Israeli Cabinet deliberates its next step. The sources said it also signals the beginning of the vital political process necessary before Israel’s coalition Cabinet can make any unilateral decisions regarding its occupation troops in Lebanon.

Prime Minister Shimon Peres and other Israeli leaders have warned for weeks that unless the Lebanese side showed more flexibility at the talks, Israel would have to reconsider whether to continue them.

The last straw, according to the government sources, came at Monday’s round of talks, when the Lebanese returned from a three-week holiday recess with no significant change in their position on security arrangements in the south.

Israeli Cabinet ministers representing the former Likud government, which presided over Israel’s invasion of Lebanon in June, 1982, are reluctant to pull back unless alternate arrangements are made to ensure the security of the country’s northern settlements.

At the opposite extreme are officials who believe that any continued Israeli presence in Lebanon is so damaging to Israel that it is worth the security risk to withdraw completely.

Another alternative--perhaps the most likely, judging from Israeli press reports--is that Israel will at least temporarily pull its forces back to new lines closer to the international border.