Whatever happened to Ghajar? Nearly a year after 2006 war, "Israel" has not yet withdrawn from village

Source: Daily Star, 19-5-2007
WAZZANI: Once a major topic in Lebanon`s intensive media coverage following the summer 2006 war with "Israel", the issue of the occupied southern town of Ghajar appears to have fallen quietly into the abyss of Lebanon`s many forgotten, unresolved issues.
"We did not forget Ghajar - it is just a complicated issue," senior adviser to the United Nations Interim Forces in Lebanon (UNIFIL) Milos Strugar said on Friday. "We are constantly working with the `Israeli` Army and the Lebanese Army to reach an understanding on this issue."
In September 2006, The Daily Star first reported on how the once-divided town of Ghajar - the southern part of it Syrian and occupied by "Israel", while its northern part is Lebanese territory - had been completely taken over by the "Israeli" Army. The "Israeli" Army`s presence in Ghajar made local headlines, with politicians demanding "Israel`s" immediate withdrawal from the Lebanese part of the town.
At the time, Ghajar was excluded from media and UN reports declaring that "Israel" had withdrawn from 90 percent of the territory it held in the South after the 34-day war.
But that was eight months ago - today there is no mention of Ghajar, and politicians have ceased demanding its return.
"The northern part of Ghajar will be returned to Lebanon," said Strugar.
"UN Resolution 1701 is very clear on this: [the] `Israeli` Army has to withdraw from all Lebanese territories," he added.
Residents of the neighboring Wazzani village, however, believe that Ghajar will remain occupied, and note changes such as the erection of "Israeli" flags and a number of homes being painted pink - a color often associated with "Israeli" settlements.
"The residents of Ghajar are originally Syrian, have `Israeli` citizenship and are living on Lebanese territory," said Strugar. "It`s complicated."
Until 1967 Ghajar was an Alawite Syrian village on the Syrian-Lebanese border. The hamlet was captured by "Israeli" forces when they took the Golan Heights in the war that year. It was liberated in May 2000 as "Israel" withdrew from most of the South, and Ghajar was divided by the UN soon afterward, with the Blue Line running through the middle of Ghajar at the town`s narrowest point.
In the 1970s, Ghajar residents adopted a pragmatic approach to their predicament, accepting "Israeli" citizenship while living under occupation.
The last UN report on Lebanon, submitted by Secretary General Ban Ki-moon on May 7, stated that "`Israel`s` continued occupation of the northern part of Ghajar constitutes another breach of the Blue Line," the other breach being "Israel`s" regular overflights over Lebanese territory.
Strugar said that the issue is being dealt with through the tripartite meetings between the Lebanese Army, the "Israeli" Army and UNIFIL Force Commander Major General Claudio Graziano.
"We are still at the talking stage, nothing has been set yet," said Strugar. "We are still trying to reach a solution satisfactory to all the parties involved. It is on the UNIFIL agenda and is the concern of all UN officials."
"Our priority is to make sure that 1701 is fully implemented and that calm and security are maintained along the UN Blue Line," he said.
Another controversy arose in the Lebanese media earlier this year regarding the village after "Israeli" occupation forces built a large white pipe extending from Ghajar into the Wazzani River. This week, the pipe was still visible.
"There was no violation, as both the Lebanese and the `Israelis` pump water from the Wazzani River," said Strugar. "This was the case before the summer war and remained so after the war."
One of the most vocal politicians on the issue was Hizbullah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, who repeatedly referred to Ghajar in his speeches following the war. But he, like others, has ceased to mention it.
"We left it to the Lebanese Army and the government to free Ghajar from `Israeli` control," Hizbullah MP Amin Cherri said. "We are waiting to see how long it will take them to do so. We hold the government responsible for not returning the Lebanese part of Ghajar to Lebanon."
For now, the Lebanese part of Ghajar remains under "Israeli" occupation, and will remain isolated from the rest of Lebanon as long as an "Israeli" flag flies above it.