Last update - 17:26 14/08/2006
Army: Incident will not jeopardize cease-fire
Peretz: Israel coordinating with UNIFIL; IDF kills Hezbollah man who fired at them
By Amos Harel and Aluf Benn, Haaretz Correspondents

Defense Minister Amir Peretz said Monday that Israeli officials have begun meeting with members of the United Nations peace-keeping force in Lebanon to discuss the withdrawal of Israel Defense Forces troops from the south of the country.

"We have launched coordination with UNIFIL officials to start handing over the ground," Peretz said, referring to the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) which, under the terms of the cease-fire that went into effect hours earlier, will help the Lebanese army control the south.

A tense calm took the place of more than a month of bitter fighting between Israel and Hezbollah as guns were stilled at 8.00 A.M. Monday.

In the one incident that occurred Monday, IDF troops killed a Hezbollah man who had opened fire on them in southern Lebanon, hours after the United Nations-brokered truce took hold, but the cease-fire held.

In mid-morning, IDF soldiers shot dead the Hezbollah fighter, who sprang from a hiding place and opened fire at them. The clash took place near the village of Ghanduriya, in central south Lebanon.

Senior IDF officers said the incident fell within guidelines allowing for resort to weaponry. The guidelines allow troops to fire at Hezbollah members who pose a mortal and immediate threat. According to the officers, the Monday incident did not jeopardize the cease-fire