UN says Israel provides maps of minefields in southern Lebanon

[Scurrilous]

<snip>

"Israel has provided maps of minefields it had laid in southern Lebanon, a move that falls in line with the UN cease-fire resolution that ended the Israel-Hezbollah fighting, a UN statement said Monday.

Disclosing minefields has been one of the demands of the Lebanese government and Hezbollah for years.

A statement issued by the UN Interim Force in Lebanon said the Israel Defense Forces provided the maps to the peacekeepers at a meeting of Lebanese, UNIFIL and Israeli generals at the force's headquarters in the border town of Naqoura.

The statement said UNIFIL in turn handed over the maps to the UN Mine Action Coordination Center and the Lebanese army for review."

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/772410.html

[bemildred]

1. Excellent!

[Solo_in_MD]

3. It a risk for Israel to do that, hopefully it works out

[bemildred]

7. Ehud's fandango on Lebanon was far riskier,

and far more likely to not pan out, as it did not, than so simple a thing as this; this is both wise in itself and a refreshing example of Israel keeping it's commitments.

[Tom Joad]

2. should have been done many years ago. Israeli policy

has been morally bankrupt on this issue. The location of the mines is important. Now they have to clean up the cluster bombs.

I would like to imagine Olmert in one of those orange jumpsuits we issue prisoners on work detail, picking up cluster bomblets on the side of the road likey they do litter here in the US.

[pampango]

4. A simple "Thank You" or "Better Late Than Never" would have sufficed.

Perhaps some in Israel would like to see orange jumpsuits on certain representatives of the other side, as well. There is enough venom to go around on all sides.

I am assuming that Hezbollah has also provided the UN with the location of any mines that it laid to make southern Lebanon more defensible. Wouldn't want the UN running over mines from either side.

[Tom Joad]

5. Israel is busy killing people in Gaza now, so somehow i think

a thank you is not appropiate at the moment.

[pampango]

6. The secret, I take, is to dismiss any small step in the right direction

as meaningless, and stay on the verbal offensive, because bad things are still happening. Both sides in the Middle East are quite adept at this strategy. I suppose that to acknowledge even the slightest positive step by the other side would weaken the demonization of the opposition that is required to maintain the confrontation indefinitely.

[Tom Joad]

8. It was a positive step that was required by the ceasefire agreement

I am happy Israel complied with that part of it. Always a surprise to see such things.