Middle East News
Israel to withdraw from divided town Ghajar
Dec 3, 2006, 18:04 GMT
Jerusalem - The Israeli cabinet decided Sunday afternoon to withdraw from the Lebanese section of the town Ghajar and hand it over to UN forces, Israeli officials confirmed.
The village was captured by Israel in the 1967 Mideast war, as part of the Syrian Golan Heights. After Israel's 1978 invasion of southern Lebanon the village extended to the north. Following the Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon in 2000, the UN declared that the border between Israel and Lebanon went through Ghajar and divided the village.
Currently there is no barrier separating the Lebanese side and the area under Israeli control. Lebanon's Hezbollah militant movement has used the northern section to spy and conduct raids on Israel.
The village residents will be allowed to continue to hold the Israeli ID cards they possess.
© 2006 dpa - Deutsche Presse-AgenturCOMMENT
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