Israelis Open 1st Stage of Troop Pullout

The Israeli army began dismantling equipment in the Lebanese port city of Sidon on Sunday and moving it southward to begin the first stage of its planned three-stage withdrawal from southern Lebanon.

Beirut radio said a convoy of 60 to 70 jeeps, trucks and armored personnel carriers left Sidon at dawn as part of the planned pullback to a new line well south and east of the city. The pullback is expected to be completed by Feb. 18.

Meanwhile, Israel radio reported that Israeli military officers have been warning Sidon residents that Israel will not be responsible for whatever happens once its troops leave.

Israeli officials have said that unless the Lebanese government agrees to the deployment of U.N. troops in the area evacuated by Israeli soldiers, there is a high risk of sectarian violence erupting among the Muslim, Druze, Christian and Palestinian populations of the affected zone.

In Jerusalem, after a meeting between Israeli Defense Minister Yitzhak Rabin and U.N. Undersecretary General Brian Urquhart, the Israelis confirmed that they and the Lebanese will hold another round of military talks at Naqoura, Lebanon, on Tuesday to review the situation following last week’s announcement of Israel’s unilateral withdrawal plan.

“I hope on Tuesday we’ll get a clearer idea of where we’re going,” Urquhart told reporters after the session.

The U.N. official, who has been shuttling between Beirut, Damascus and Jerusalem for much of the last week, said that Lebanon has not yet asked for any change in the role of the U.N. peacekeeping force in Lebanon.

However, he said, “if that’s what they decide they wish to have, then they will have to make, of course, a request to the United Nations, which has to be considered by the Security Council.” He added that the council has enough time to act before Israel completes the first phase of its withdrawal next month.

No matter what happens Tuesday, the United Nations, which is host to the bilateral talks, hopes to keep the Naqoura forum open for continued military contacts between Israel and Lebanon as Israel’s withdrawal proceeds.

Israel plans to abandon less than 20% of the Lebanese territory it currently occupies in the first stage of its withdrawal, but in the process, the number of increasingly hostile local Lebanese citizens in areas controlled by Israel will decline by nearly 50%.

Israeli radio reported Sunday that engineering and ordnance officers issued orders Friday to begin dismantling ammunition dumps, fuel depots, medical centers and storage facilities in the Sidon area.

It also said that liaison officers told Sidon residents that the Israeli army reserves the right to return to the city if it becomes a staging area for terrorist activity against Israel or its withdrawing troops.

The officers also informed residents that there will be increased restrictions on traffic in the area in coming weeks to provide defensive cover to army convoys moving south, Israel radio reported.