Shalom hopes to normalize with Lebanon after the Syrian withdrawal

News reports in Beirut said that a UN team will arrive in Beirut on Wednesday to pave the way for the work of the UN investigators team who will consider the implications of the assassination of Rafiq al-Hariri. However, the Lebanese foreign ministry announced earlier that the visit was due yesterday, Monday.

On the other hand, the Israeli foreign minister Silvan Shalom expressed his hope that the Syrian withdrawal from Lebanon will lead to the normalization of relations between Lebanon and Israel.

Shalom said in a statement with the Israeli radio that he hopes "the withdrawal will open the way to peace with Lebanon" denying any differences over the land with Beirut. Shalom added saying that "Lebanon has been liberated today and it is possible to have original national forces in this country, considering that "its interest is to live in peace with Israel." He doubted that "the secret cord between Lebanon and Syria is severed."