Lebanon's "limited" deployment of soldiers and police along the border with Israel is raising new uncertainties 10 weeks after Israel ended its 22-year occupation of the region, according to the New York Times.
     Lebanese troops failed to deploy their forces along the border when they sent them in Wednesday, drawing a rebuke from the UN peacekeepers on the ground. The United Nations has hinted it may not renew its mission when its latest mandate expires in six months.
     "Border security is essentially the responsibility of the state of Lebanon," said UN spokesperson Timur Goksel. "This is a national, not international, duty."
     However, Lebanese Interior Minister Michel Murr said the Lebanese task force "is responsible for law and order and not on the border with Israel. The border is not our concern at this stage."
     Lebanon says it will deploy its troops on the border only in the context of a complete regional peace agreement, including the turnover of the Golan Heights (John Kifner, New York Times, 12 Aug).
     Diplomats and observers say that despite deployment of the UN Interim Force in Lebanon along the border, the token force is falling victim to broader regional strategies and is being restrained from effective peacekeeping by Hezbollah forces.
     Diplomats say the Hezbollah is wielding more influence than previously thought in defining post-withdrawal security in south Lebanon.
     "Everything that we hear regarding the deployment of UNIFIL and the Lebanese task force appears to be inspired either by Hezbollah or Syria," said a Western diplomat. "We never expected Hezbollah to be an obstruction but many of us are surprised at the extent that the party has become involved in the details of security issues."
     UNIFIL's current role will be confined to foot and armored patrol while monitoring the border for further Israeli violations. "UNIFIL has a new concept of operations necessitated by the recent changes," Goksel said. "We are not any more going to operate observation posts and static checkpoints" (Nicholas Blandford, Beirut Daily Star, 10 Aug).
     Meanwhile, Israeli army spokesperson Ron Kitrey said UNIFIL moved into the region "too slowly and too separate in their deployment." According to Kitrey, Israel expects UNIFIL "to take actual action in preventing any kind of potential fuse exploding" (Khalil Fleihan, Beirut Daily Star, 12 Aug).

Relatives Of Lebanese Prisoners Appeal To UN
     The families of 19 Lebanese prisoners held by Israel for more than a decade appealed to the United Nations today to push for their release.
     "They have become skeletons in Israeli jails," the Follow Up Committee said in a letter to Secretary General Kofi Annan. "Israel withdrew from Lebanon but did not release the prisoners. How can they return the land but not the human beings? How can you say resolution 425 has been executed?"
     Human rights groups say Israel is breaking international law continuing to hold 17 Lebanese who fought the occupation and another two officials abducted from the Amal and Hezbollah guerrilla movements.
     The staged sit-in by the prisoner's families opposite the UN regional headquarters is drawing international attention (Reuters/ABCNews.com, 14 Aug).

Lebanon To Air Border Grievances At UN Summit
     Lebanese Prime Minister Salim Hoss plans to represent Lebanon at the opening of the 55th session of the UN General Assembly next month, a Foreign Ministry source said Thursday.
     In his address, Hoss "will highlight Lebanon's reservations about the Blue Line" drawn by UN experts as a reference for verifying the Israeli pullout, the source said.
     Hoss will call for Israel's withdrawal from the Shebaa Farms, the source said. Although Lebanon claims the area, Israel says it is Syrian and its fate should be settled in Israeli-Syrian peace negotiations.
     While calling for the repatriation of Palestinian refugees in Lebanon, Hoss will also work to garner support for the conference of donor countries to be held in October. The ministry source added that Hoss planned to hold several side meetings during his visit scheduled for September (Khalil Fleihan, Beirut Daily Star, 11 Aug).