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US seeks to relaunch Mideast peace talks: diplomats

UN patrol finds explosives in Lebanon near Israel border
Beirut (AFP) Dec 27, 2009 - A UN peacekeeping patrol has found large quantities of explosives in southern Lebanon near the border with Israel, the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) announced on Sunday.

The patrol stumbled on the explosives late Saturday after "observing suspicious movement of approximately five persons" near the town of Khiam, eight kilometres (five miles) from the border with Israel, a statement said.

The peacekeeping force said it opened an investigation into "the precise nature of the explosives and the circumstances under which it was found," noting that the find violates UN Security Council Resolution 1701.

"As the patrol approached the location, the group of unidentified persons fled the area in the cover of darkness," the statement said, adding that UNIFIL peacekeepers found at the site "a significant quantity of explosives."

"The presence of unauthorised explosives in the area constitutes a clear violation of UN Security Council resolution 1701 (2006)... and is a matter of serious concern," the statement said.

Resolution 1701 ended a 2006 war between Israel and the Lebanese Shiite militant group Hezbollah, and calls for the dismantling and disarming of all militias operating in Lebanon.

Hezbollah has refused to heed the disarmament demand, however, arguing it needs to retain its arsenal for defence against Israel.

Lebanon also hosts a number of well-armed Palestinian factions that reject the peace process with Israel.

UNIFIL said it was cooperating with the Lebanese army to determine the nature of the explosives and "must await the findings of the investigation before we can make any final assessment and conclusion."

The explosives have been handed over to the Lebanese army.

The mandate of UNIFIL, which has been in Lebanon since Israel first invaded the south 1978, was expanded when the resolution was passed after the 2006 war.

Over the past year, the peacekeepers have launched at least four investigations after rockets were fired at Israel from southern Lebanon.
by Staff Writers
 Cairo (AFP) Dec 28, 2009
 The United States is drafting two letters of guarantee for Israel and the Palestinians to serve as a basis for the relaunch of stalled Middle East peace talks, Arab and Western diplomats in Cairo said.

"US special envoy George Mitchell will present two draft letters of guarantee, one for Israel and one to the Palestinian Authority during his next visit to the region," one Arab diplomat told AFP.

"The United States are hoping that the two letters will serve as a basis for the relaunch of Israeli-Palestinian negotiations but we don't know if they will satisfy the Palestinians who want a complete freeze of settlement activity before talks resume," the diplomat said.

The United States is currently in talks with the Palestinians and Egypt -- a key US ally in the region -- over the letters, a Western diplomat said.

Washington is hoping that "the two letters will allow for the relaunch of negotiations," which have been suspended for almost a year, the diplomat said.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is expected in Cairo on Tuesday, last month announced a 10-month moratorium on new housing starts in Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank in a move he said was aimed to helping to kick-start the peace talks suspended during the Gaza war at the turn of the year.

The moratorium does not include public buildings, construction under way and does not apply to occupied and annexed east Jerusalem, which Israelis consider part of their capital, but which the Palestinians want as the capital of their promised state.

The Palestinians have rejected the moratorium, saying it fell far short of their demand for a complete halt of settlement activity in the whole West Bank, including annexed east Jerusalem.


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