Israel agreed today to a Lebanese request for a two-week break in the talks at Nakura and denied that it had set a deadline for progress.
The denial followed media reports that Israeli officials informed Assistant Secretary of State Richard Murphy that unless the negotiations yielded some progress in the next 10 days, Israel would act unilaterally to redeploy its forces in south Lebanon.
The Lebanese had asked that the talks be adjourned for the Christmas holidays, beginning December 20. Israeli sources said they plan to use the break to assess the negotiations to date and consider future steps. Israeli Radio reported today that the hiatus in negotiations might be used by Israel to encourage a mediation effort by France or to persuade the U.S. to become more deeply involved.
Murphy, who is Assistant Secretary for Near Eastern and South Asian Affairs and the Reagan Administration’s top aide in the region, was in Beirut today after conferring with Israeli leaders over the weekend. He plans to go to Damascus and then return to Jerusalem. Some sources here said yesterday that Murphy would undertake “shuttle” diplomacy between the three capitals in an effort to get the Nakura talks moving toward progress.
The reports of an Israeli deadline demand apparently arose from what sources here called a misinterpretation of statements that Israel could not wait indefinitely for a successful outcome of the talks with the Lebanese.
The Israeli and Lebanese delegations held their ninth session today at Nakura, under the auspices of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL). Gen. Amos Gilboa, head of the Israeli delegation, was reported to have again urged the Lebanese to speed up the talks.
The two sides have been negotiating for two months over security arrangements for Israel’s northern borders which would permit the Israel Defense Force to be withdrawn from south Lebanon. The talks are deadlocked over the issue of who will be responsible for security on the Lebanese side after the IDF departs.
The Lebanese insist that their regular army take over. The Israelis, dubious of its capobilities, want the immediate border zone patroled by the South Lebonon Army (SLA), a largely Christian militia which it supports, and an expanded role for UNIFIL further north.
The head of the Lebanese delegation, Gen. Muhammed Al-Haj, told Israel Radio today that the Lebanese army was ready to take over positions up to the Awoli River line, the area presently occupied by the IDF, but has not done so until now because of “misunderstandings.”
Al-Haj said a unilateral redeployment of Israeli forces would sobotoge the negotiations. The U.S. role has not been shorply defined. Murphy was dispatched to the region a week ago after several months’ absence. Some sources said that the U.S. is anxious to maintain a low profile to avoid a new embarrassment to the Reagan Administration if the Nakura talks fail.
The Administration was seriously discomfited when the Lebanese earlier this year renounced their May 17, 1983 agreement with Israel which had been brokered by the U.S. with the direct intervention of Secretary of State George Shuitz.
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