Italian leader 'first to visit Lebanon'

Italian prime minister Romano Prodi visited his country’s peacekeepers in south Lebanon today, becoming the first head of government to visit the region since the Israel-Hezbollah war.

Mr Prodi flew by helicopter to Tibnine, a town just under 10 miles north of the Israeli border, where the Italian contingent of the United Nations peacekeeping force had set up base.

He reviewed an honour guard, thanked troops for their service, got a briefing from officers and had lunch with military commanders.

After meeting Lebanese prime minister Fuad Saniora earlier in Beirut, Mr Prodi expressed his government’s willingness to help mediate the release of two Israeli soldiers, whose capture by Hezbollah on July 12 sparked the fighting.

The August 11 ceasefire resolution demands their conditional release, but the guerrilla group says it will only agree to trade them for Arab prisoners in Israel. UN Secretary General Kofi Annan has appointed a secret envoy to negotiate their release.

Mr Prodi also said Lebanon’s status would effect the whole Middle East. “The stability of Lebanon is the instrument toward stability of the area,” he told reporters.

Saniora expressed appreciation for what he called Italy’s “strong participation” in the UN operation.

Besides Mr Annan, Mr Prodi was the first foreign leader to visit south Lebanon since the summertime war which killed about 1,000 people, mostly Lebanese civilians. Mr Annan visited UN peacekeeping headquarters in the southern border town of Naqoura in late August.

With 2,500 troops, Italy is the leading contributor to the UN peacekeeping force in south Lebanon, known as Unifil. After the Israel-Hezbollah conflict, the force was expanded and tasked with creating a weapons-free zone. It is slated to reach 15,000 members, alongside an equal number of Lebanese troops. Unifil currently numbers 5,200.

About 1,000 Italian troops have already been deployed in a coastal area between the Israeli border and the Litani River, about 18 miles into Lebanon.

Italy is due to take over command of Unifil from France in February.

Later today, Prodi visited the Giuseppe Garibaldi, Italy’s only aircraft carrier, which is anchored off the Lebanese capital. He also visited the grave of former prime minister Rafik Hariri, and met with Lebanese parliament speaker Nabih Berri, a close political ally of Hezbollah.

In an interview published today, Berri warned that the guerrilla group would resume its military campaign unless Israel withdraws from Chebaa Farms, a sliver of land near the corners of Lebanon, Israel and Syria.

“If Israel does not pull out, we will have to drive them out,” Berri told The Guardian newspaper.

Lebanon claims the territory as its own, but the United Nations says it belongs to Syria. Under the Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire, the UN agreed to review the area’s borders within 30 days. But the deadline passed without any apparent movement on the issue.

Israeli troops withdrew from south Lebanon last week, but they held onto a small piece of land in the divided border village of Ghajar. UN peacekeepers were mediating between Israel and Lebanon over the status of the tiny village.