Lahd informs Israel about possible withdrawal from Jezzine

Commander of the pro-Israeli SLA militia, Antoine Lahd, has informed the Israeli Defense Ministry of his intention to withdraw his troops from the Jezzine district in the Lebanese border strip occupied by Israel.

According to the BBC's correspondent in Beirut and to figures from Jezzine, signals were recorded on carrying out such withdrawal.

Meanwhile, information unveiled that militia members have started to take field measures in preparation for withdrawal from Jezzine. The BBC correspondent reported that certain members of the militia, whose number in Jezzine is almost 100, had evacuated their families from the region, a matter which indicates the seriousness of the withdrawal.

The BBC correspondent quoted well-informed Lebanese sources as saying that there are several indicators that show that this time withdrawal from Jezzine seems the most serious.

The city of Jezzine was occupied by the Israeli occupation forces in 1982 during the second Israeli invasion of Lebanon. Jezzine was not included in the withdrawal maintained by Israel to the borders of area it occupied in its first invasion of Lebanon in 1978. Thereby this area is considered outside UN resolution 425, which was released following the Israeli invasion of Lebanon.