JERUSALEM (CNN)October 1, 2006 — United Nations peacekeepers Sunday denied Israel’s assertion that it had completely withdrawn all of its soldiers from southern Lebanon.UNIFIL spokesman Alexander Ivanko told CNN Israeli troops still control the border village of Ghajar.

Israeli military sources had previously said the final phase of withdrawal took place on Sunday, when the last Israeli soldier withdrew.When asked about the UNIFIL report, the Israel Defense Forces confirmed its forces are still operating near Ghajar and will continue to do so "until IDF, UNIFIL and the Lebanese army come to an agreement regarding the security arrangements in the area" Israel had already withdrawn most of the 10,000 troops that entered Lebanon during the fighting between Israel and Hezbollah, which began July 12 when Hezbollah.

Israeli media had been reporting on Friday that the last Israeli forces would leave before the start of Yom Kippur, the Jewish day of atonement, on Sunday night. Yom Kippur is one of the holiest days in the Jewish calendar.The fighting between Israel and Hezbollah generally ceased after the August 14 passage of U.N. Security Council Resolution 1701, which called for an international force in southern Lebanon.

daily star, sept 30, BEIRUT: More help from UN member states is needed to advance the investigation into the assassination of former Lebanese Premier Rafik Hariri, the head of the UN probe, Serge Brammertz, said on Friday. Briefing the UN Security Council on his second report, which was issued Monday, Brammertz said the investigations have progressed but that there should be "continued backing" from the international community for the probe. He said that so far, most of the member states that the UN has asked for help or information have responded in a timely fashion, including Syria, whose cooperation Brammertz called "generally satisfactory."

Syria’s UN Ambassador, Bashar al-Jaafari, told the council Friday that the UN probe under Brammertz was being conducted "in a professional manner" and should be given "time and the necessary resources" to establish the truth without "politicization and false hypotheses." He said Damascus was fully committed to cooperate "as long as the investigation continues to be professional." As for the path of investigations and results reached, Brammertz said the UN probe "is satisfied with the progress made … but it still needs help and full support from UN member states on technical, legal and judicial matters relevant to the investigation."

HARISSA, Lebanon (AFP) Sun Sep 24, – Anti-Syrian Christian leader Samir Geagea scoffed at Hezbollah’s claims of victory in its devastating conflict with Israel, during a rally attended by tens of thousands. "We are the victors, and yet we do not feel it was victory but rather that a real catastrophe befell our country, and that our fate and destiny are at the mercy of the winds," said the Lebanese Forces (LF) leader and member of Lebanon’s "March 14" group Sunday.

Crowds flocked to a hilltop Maronite cathedral in Harissa in the Christian heartland north of Beirut, site of a giant statue of the Virgin Mary, for a mass and to hear Geagea speak at the rally staged as a memorial for "martyrs" of his party members killed during Lebanon’s 1975-1990 civil war.The Christian television network, LBC, close to the LF, said some 90,000 people were expected to flock to the scene, but an independent figure for the turnout was unavailable.

The rally came two days after Syrian-backed Shiite group Hezbollah held a giant demonstration in Beirut to celebrate "victory" in the July-August war with Israel."We are the victors because it was us who were demanding the (Lebanese) army’s deployment (in south Lebanon), backed by UNIFIL (peacekeepers), while they were opposed," said Geagea, without naming Hezbollah.

BEIRUT, Lebanon -Sept. 22 – By HUSSEIN DAKROUB,  Hezbollah’s leader Sheik Hassan Nasrallah made his first public appearance since his group’s war with Israel began July 12, taking the stage Friday at a rally by hundreds of thousands of his supporters in Beirut’s bombed-out suburbs. Nasrallah had called the rally to celebrate the "divine and historic victory" over Israel, and supporters packed a lot for an expected speech by the guerrilla leader.

The crowd