Barak and withdrawal from South Lebanon

Israel's Prime Minister Ehud Barak said that confrontations are expected to continue in South Lebanon as far as the Israeli army exists in that area.

During Sunday's meeting for the Israeli Cabinet, Barak added that Hizbullah is trying to escalate its activities in Lebanon with the objective to create a situation as if the Israeli army is being expelled out of the Lebanese territories.

Barak indicated the recent Israeli raids on the positions of the people's front for the liberation of Palestine, general command. He considered these raids as a warning to all authority centers in Lebanon to what sort of reply Israel will have in case an attack is made against Israel after withdrawal from the Lebanese territories.

Meantime, the Israeli Foreign Minister David Levy said that Israel will study the possibility of taking back Lebanese territories in case the Hizbullah party will cease the areas from which the Israeli army will evacuate in South Lebanon.

During the meeting of the Israeli government on Sunday Levy has not ruled out the continuity of the Israeli operations in South Lebanon if Hizbullah will control the sectors from which Israel will withdraw, noting that he had the consent of the UN for an immediate redeployment for UNIFIL in the areas which the Israeli army will evacuate.