Blue Line (Lebanon)

The Blue Line is a border demarcation between Lebanon and Israel published by the United Nations on 7 June 2000 for the purposes of determining whether Israel had fully withdrawn from Lebanon. At the same time, an extension, expressly not to be called the Blue Line nor considered the legally demarcated international boundary according to the UN, identified the Israeli withdrawal line between Lebanon and the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights.

Background

On March 11 1978, the Palestine Liberation Organization carried out an attack in Israel. The attack involved two buses, and resulted in the death of 37 Israelis [http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/Foreign%20Relations/Israels%20Foreign%20Relations%20since%201947/1977-1979/133%20Statement%20to%20the%20press%20by%20Prime%20Minister%20Begin] . In response, Israeli forces invaded the area of Lebanon from which the PLO operated regularly during the 70s. Starting on the night of March 14th/15th, and culminating in a few days, the IDF occupied the entire southern part of the country except for the city of Tyre and its surrounding area. This operation is known in Israel as the Litani Operation.

On March 15 1978, the Lebanese Government submitted a strong protest to the United Nations Security Council against the Israeli invasion, stating that it had no connection with the Palestinian operation. On March 19, 1978 the Council adopted resolution 425, in which it called upon Israel immediately to cease its military action and withdraw its forces from all Lebanese territory. It also decided on the immediate establishment of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL). The first UNIFIL troops arrived in the area on March 23 1978.

2000 Hezbollah cross-border raid

On October 7, 2000, three Israeli soldiers, Adi Avitan 22, Staff Sgt. Benyamin Avraham 21, and Staff Sgt. Omar Sawaidwere 27 were abducted by the Hezbollah resistance organization. They were abducted while patrolling the southern (Israeli) side of the Israeli-Lebanese border. This borderline is officially recognized by the UN Secretary General and the Security Council as the Israeli deployment line, and is fully in accord with Security Council Resolution 425. [cite web|url=http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/MFAArchive/2000_2009/2001/2/Israelis%20Held%20by%20the%20Hizbullah%20-%20Oct%202000-Jan%202004| title = Israelis Held by the Hizbullah - Oct 2000-Jan 2004| publisher="mfa.gov.il"] The soldiers were killed either during the attack or in its immediate aftermath [cite web|url=http://edition.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/meast/01/29/prisoner.exchange/| title = Israel, Hezbollah swap prisoners| publisher="CNN"] .

Definition

The Blue Line is based on the deployment of the IDF prior to March 14 1978. It should not be confused with the Green Line, established in 1949, which is the armistice line of the 1948 Arab-Israeli War. The 1949 line is in turn the same as the 1923 Mandate Line which was the border between France and Britain's territory (see: Treaty of Sèvres); Lebanon is an ex-French mandate and Israel an ex-British mandate. (See League of Nations). The 1949 agreement stated that the line would follow the 1923 line. In 1923 38 boundary markers were placed along the 49 mile boundary and a detailed text description was published. The 2000 Blue Line differs in about a half dozen short stretches from the 1949 line, though never by more than 475 meters. [http://www.law.fsu.edu/library/collection/LimitsinSeas/numericalibs-template.html]

Borders are usually negotiated between countries, and between 1950 and 1967 Israeli and Lebanese surveyors managed to complete 25 non-contiguous kilometers and mark (but not sign) another quarter of the international border. In April 17 2000, when Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak announced that Israel would begin withdrawing its forces from Lebanon, the Lebanese government did not want to take part in marking the border. The UN thus conducted its own survey based on the line discussed in UN Security Council Resolution 425.

On May 25 2000, the government of Israel notified the Secretary-General that Israel had redeployed its forces in compliance with Security Council resolutions 425.

From May 24 to June 7 2000, the UN Special Envoy travelled to Israel, Lebanon and the Syria to follow up on the implementation of the Secretary-General's May 22 report. The United Nations cartographer and his team, assisted by UNIFIL, worked on the ground to identify a line to be adopted for the practical purposes of confirming the Israeli withdrawal. While it was agreed that this would not be a formal border demarcation, the aim was to identify a line on the ground closely conforming to the internationally recognized boundaries of Lebanon, based on the best available cartographic and other documentary evidence.

On June 7 the completed map showing the withdrawal line was formally transmitted by the Force Commander of UNIFIL to his Lebanese and Israeli counterparts. Notwithstanding their reservations about the line, the Governments of Israel and Lebanon confirmed that identifying this line was solely the responsibility of the United Nations and that they would respect the line as identified. On June 8, UNIFIL teams commenced the work of verifying the Israeli withdrawal behind the line.

On June 16, the Secretary-General reported to the Security Council that Israel had withdrawn its forces from Lebanon in accordance with resolution 425 (1978) and met the requirements defined in his report of May 22 2000; namely, Israel had completed the withdrawal in conformity with the line identified by the United Nations, South Lebanese Army militia had been dismantled, and all detainees held at Al-Khiam prison had been freed. [http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2000/20000618.sc6878.doc.html]

The withdrawal line has been termed the Blue Line in all official UN communications since.

ee also

* Green Line (Israel)
* Green Line (Lebanon)
* Purple Line
* Shebaa Farms
*UNSC Resolution 1559
*UNSC Resolution 1583

References

* [http://www.law.fsu.edu/library/collection/LimitsinSeas/numericalibs-template.html International Boundary Studies for most of the world]
* [http://www.un.org/Depts/dpko/missions/unifil/background.html Lebanon Background] , UNIFIL, 2006.
* Ze'ev Schiff, [http://www.4mothers.org.il/lebanon/blue.htm "Thin Blue Line"] , "Ha'aretz" , June 23, 2000.

External links

* [http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2000/20000618.sc6878.doc.html SECURITY COUNCIL ENDORSES SECRETARY-GENERAL’S CONCLUSION ON ISRAELI WITHDRAWAL FROM LEBANON AS OF 16 JUNE] UN Security Council Press Release SC/6878, June 16, 2000