JERUSALEM, Aug. 31 (Xinhua) -- Israeli army on Thursday transferred the control over a section near the Israeli-Lebanese border to the Lebanese army and the UN troops.

    This is the first time that Israeli army handed over an area that close to the border, an army spokeswoman told Xinhua.

    The spokewoman said that the area transferred on Thursday located to the east of the Israeli border town of Metulla.

    She added that since the UN-brokered ceasefire took place on Aug. 14, such kind of transfer has been conducting, and in the past two weeks two thirds of the territory controlled by the Israeli army has been handed over to the Lebanese side and UN forces.

    At the time of the cease-fire two weeks ago, Israeli troops controlled a security zone of 30 kilometers inside of Lebanon.

    The Resolution 1701, unanimously adopted by UN Security Council on Aug. 11, calls for Israel's withdrawal and authorizes an increase of the existing UN force in Lebanon to 15,000 troops to help Lebanese troops take control of south Lebanon as Israel withdraws.

    The resolution ended a 34-day-long conflict between Israel and Hezbollah on Aug. 14 but also made a series of demands on Israel, Lebanon and the international community which have yet to be met.

    It also urged the reopening of Lebanon's airports and harbors, blockaded by Israel since the start of the conflict, and the securing of Lebanon's land borders to prevent arms smuggling.

    The resolution called for the international community to provide enough troops to allow the UN to boost the size of its current the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) from2,000 to 15,000. Enditem