An informed United Nations source said today that the advance contingent of the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) will arrive in south Lebanon in a few days. He said that the delay is because the troops of this contingent are Austrian and Swedish troops already deployed in Sinai and the Golan Heights and the consent of their governments is needed for the transfer. The sources said that the deployment of the full 4000-member UN force is expected to take a few weeks to be completed.
Negotiations were underway today in the UN and in the Middle East concerning UNIFIL. Lt. Gen. Ensio Siilasvuo, chief coordinator of the UN peace-keeping missions in the Middle East, met today with Israeli Defense Minister Ezer Weizman concerning UNIFIL. He will be in Beirut tomorrow to consult with Lebanese government officials.
Meanwhile, at the UN, Secretary General Kurt Waldheim has been meeting with the representatives of Israel and Lebanon and with would-be contributors to the new UN force. According to sources here, negotiations are underway with the French who indicated yesterday their willingness to provide troops to UNIFIL.
The source said in response to a question that the withdrawal of the Israeli troops from south Lebanon is the primary problem since only then can the deployment of UNIFIL take place. He added, however, that the exact area of where the UN forces will be sent is still to be determined.
U.S., USSR COMPROMISED ON RESOLUTION
The resolution adopted yesterday by the Security Council did not condemn either the Israeli action or the atrocities by Palestinian terrorists as a result of a compromise between the United States and the Soviet Union. According to diplomatic sources here, the U.S. rejected a Soviet demand that the Israeli action be deplored and the Soviet Union objected to any reference of the Palestinian raid March II in Israel.
The UNIFIL would cost about $68 million for six months. Neither the U.S. nor the Soviet Union will provide any troops for the operation. The USSR and Czechoslovakia abstained in yesterday’s Security Council vote on the resolution and China declined to participate. The other 12 Council members voted in favor of the resolution.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
