Special report: Israel-Lebanon conflicts [Gallery] [Videos]    

Special report: Israel, Lebanon agree on ceasefire    

    BEIRUT, Sept. 4 (Xinhua) -- Israel's full withdrawal from south Lebanon is closer after a joint meeting between Lebanese and Israeli officers on Monday, a UN force commander said.

    Major-General Alain Pellegrini, commander of the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), made the evaluation after meeting with representatives of the Lebanese and Israeli armies at UNIFIL's headquarters in Naqoura, a town on the Mediterranean coast about 4 km north of the Israeli border.

    "The meeting was productive and I think we are on the right track in securing the full withdrawal of the IDF (Israeli Defence Forces) from Lebanon and finally ensuring that the Lebanese army will take control of the whole border area in the south," the commander said.

    A UN statement released Monday said that the meeting aimed at coordinating the process of the Israeli pullout and Lebanese deployment, in conjunction with the peacekeepers.

    According to the UN sources, Israeli troops had withdrawn from two more posts held since the Aug. 14 truce, but still controls several positions in southern Lebanon.

    The UN Security Council Resolution 1701, which halted a war between Israel and Lebanon's Hezbollah last month, called on Israel to withdraw from south Lebanon at the same time as the deployment of an expanded UNIFIL and Lebanese troops in the area. Enditem