Israelis, Lebanese Resume Pullout Talks

Israeli and Lebanese negotiators resumed talks Tuesday on the possibility of military coordination of Israel’s planned troop withdrawal from southern Lebanon, while a few miles away Lebanese residents protested a fatal bombing that underlined the dangers that the talks are meant to address.

Ranking Israeli defense sources said the two nations’ military delegations made no concrete progress toward a coordinated policy in the 13th round of U.N.-sponsored discussions at Naqoura, Lebanon. The two sides agreed to meet again Thursday.

Businesses on Strike Israel has said it would like to see the United Nations deploy peacekeeping troops in the areas that it evacuates. The Lebanese government has resisted the idea as an infringement of its sovereignty. However, senior Israeli defense sources said the leader of the Lebanese delegation, Maj. Gen. Mohammed Hajj, indicated late Tuesday that his government is now inclined to go along with the Israeli plan but that no formal answer will be given until Thursday’s session.

Meanwhile, in Sidon, about 35 miles north of Naqoura, many businesses went on strike and about 4,000 residents demonstrated to protest a car-bomb explosion in the city Monday night. The blast killed two people and wounded 37, including a key Sunni Muslim leader.

Lebanese Premier Rashid Karami blamed Israel for the bombing, saying the incident was part of an attempt to sow sectarian violence among the local population in the wake of the planned troop withdrawal.

The Israeli Foreign Ministry denied responsibility, while reports in the Israeli media quoted unnamed security sources as saying the blast marked the beginning of a battle among various Lebanese and Palestinian factions for control of Sidon, the largest Lebanese city under Israeli occupation.

Suspension of Talks The revived Naqoura talks are meant as a forum to coordinate the Israeli withdrawal with the Lebanese and the United Nations. The hope is to avoid a repeat of the sectarian struggle that followed Israel’s abrupt 1983 withdrawal from the Shouf Mountain region, where bloody fighting erupted between Druze and Christian militias competing to fill the power vacuum.

When the Naqoura talks began last Nov. 8, the goal was to negotiate a withdrawal agreement that included new security arrangements to protect Israel’s northern settlements. However, the talks made little progress, and Israel suspended them 12 days ago. The Israeli Cabinet then approved a unilateral three-stage withdrawal plan.

Israel’s military delegation outlined the decision at Tuesday’s meeting, stressing that no matter what Lebanon and the United Nations do, Israeli troops will evacuate the Sidon area by Feb. 18 in the first stage of the pullout.

Timetable Demanded Lebanon has demanded from Israel a timetable for the full pullback to the international border--a condition that Israel refuses. Under the staged withdrawal approved last week, the Israeli Cabinet must separately approve the timing of each phase.

Israeli Defense Minister Yitzhak Rabin on Tuesday joined the Israeli armed forces chief of staff and the head of the army’s northern command in a tour of the area to be evacuated during the first phase.

Israel radio reported that the withdrawal from Sidon is well ahead of schedule, with most Israeli troops already out of the city.