[LCM Articles] U.S. assures Israel it will not be forced to withdraw from Shebaa

[Abdallah Jabbour]

*U.S. pledge to Israel on Shaba enabled breakthrough

*Haaretz Diplomatic Correspondent Aluf Benn reports that an agreement
reached between Israel and the United States on the disputed Shaba Farms
area, located on Israel's border with Lebanon, enabled a breakthrough in
reaching a cease-fire resolution at the United Nations on Friday.

In letters exchanged between U.S. and Israeli leaders, U.S. officials
assured Israel that UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan would be authorized to
determine whether the area belongs to Lebanon or Syria, but that the future
status of the territory would only be determined in negotiations between
Israel and Farms' rightful owners.

A senior government source said that Israel would not be obligated to
withdraw from Shaba Farms, even if Annan's investigation determines that
they belong to Lebanon.

In the negotiations that preceded the cease-fire deal, Lebanon demanded that
Israel hand over Shaba Farms as a "deposit" to the UN, with the small strip
of territory later to be given to either Lebanon or Syria, according to the
results of Annan's investigation
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