UNIFIL still waiting for Israel to present timetable for Lebanon pullout

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The UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) on Wednesday said it had yet to receive a timetable from Israel for the completion of its troop withdrawal from neighboring Lebanon, despite a previous forecast which indicated the pullout would be completed by the weekend.

UNIFIL spokesman Alexander Avianco made the statement in response to Israel's army chief Dan Halutz saying that his nation's troops were unlikely to withdraw from Lebanon by Friday because more time was needed to work out the details for a final handover to the UN peacekeepers.

Halutz made the turnabout one day after he had told the Israeli parliament that the pullback could be accomplished by Friday evening.

Reports estimate the remaining Israeli army still numbered in its thousands in southern Lebanon, though the Jewish state will not reveal the number.

Peoples Daily

[razors edge]

1. cue carly simmon....anticipation

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2. I was thinking "send in the clowns".

I was mainly interested in the variety of opinions on the subject of when the withdrawal might be complete that are appearing in the press the last few days. There seems to be a good deal of disagreement.