Middle East: Israel said yesterday that it would lift an eight-week air and sea blockade against Lebanon today, handing over control to international forces.
Shortly after the announcement, Lebanon formally asked UN secretary general Kofi Annan, who brokered the end of the blockade, to authorise the deployment of German naval ships to monitor the Lebanese coast.
French, Italian and Greek naval ships are expected to be deployed until Germany takes over the sea patrols.
Israel said prime minister Ehud Olmert had been told by US secretary of state Condoleezza Rice and Mr Annan that "international forces are ready to take over control posts over the sea ports and airports of Lebanon".
"Thus it was agreed that tomorrow at 6pm (1500 GMT), Israel will leave the control positions over the ports in conjunction with the entry of the international forces," a statement from Mr Olmert's office said.
Israel imposed the embargo, bombing Beirut airport and denying ships access to Lebanese ports, a day after Hizbullah captured two of its soldiers on July 12th. Lebanon had vowed to bust the blockade if it was not lifted by tomorrow.
In a sign that the end of the embargo was imminent, British Airways said it was resuming direct flights to Beirut after the British government gave assurances that it would be safe to do so. Lebanon's Middle East Airlines and Royal Jordanian began flying regularly into the capital last month, but have complied with Israel's insistence that all such flights go via Amman. Qatar Airways resumed direct flights to Beirut on Monday.
Israel said it reserved the right to take action to stop any arms smuggling across the Syrian border to the Lebanese Hizbullah guerrilla group until full implementation of the UN Security Council resolution that ushered in the August 14th truce.
Lebanon's foreign minister Fawzi Salloukh told reporters in Cairo yesterday that the two Israeli soldiers held by Hizbullah would not be released unless there were talks with Israel about a prisoner swap. Mr Annan said he would send an envoy to the region to work on the issue before the end of the week.
Meanwhile, two Lebanese soldiers were killed and a third was wounded in the south yesterday as they tried to defuse an Israeli landmine.
- Reuters