Chirac rejects Lebanon withdrawal  plan
 

                   By JAY BUSHINSKY and news agencies (Jerusalem post)

                   JERUSALEM (June 1) - Senior government officials decried
                   French President Jacques Chirac's virtual rejection yesterday of
                   Israel's offer to withdraw from southern Lebanon on the basis of
                   UN Security Council Resolution 425.

                   However, they indicated that the government stands by its
                   position, under which the IDF would evacuate the security zone
                   as soon as the Lebanese government authorizes its army to
                   take responsibility there and coordinates its entry with the
                   withdrawing Israeli units.

                   "In regards to the application of [Security Council] Resolution
                   425, I would be overjoyed if it was implemented," Chirac told a
                   news conference in Beirut, on the grounds of the French
                   ambassador's residence. "But it is not up for negotiation or
                   discussion.

                   "It is a question of principles that goes to the very nature of UN
                   resolutions. So, I hope for the implementation of 425
                   immediately and without any conditions," he said.

                   "The French president's statement is most regrettable and does
                   not contain any elements which could bring about a solution to
                   the problem," said Foreign Ministry Director-General Eytan
                   Bentsur.

                   "The interpretation which the president gave the decision
                   contradicts the understanding which has been shown by the
                   nations of the world until yesterday, including that of France
                   herself."

                   David Bar-Illan, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu's
                   communications director, added that "Israel will continue its
                   efforts to persuade the Lebanese government to facilitate the
                   withdrawal of Israeli troops and to make the arrangements
                   necessary to make this possible."

                   During his talks yesterday in Beirut, Chirac dismissed chances
                   of any separate Israeli peace with Lebanon, saying Israel must
                   simultaneously settle Syria's demand for return of the Golan
                   Heights.

                   "Things being complex, it is not realistic to imagine that we
                   could establish a solid peace by cutting it up into small pieces,"
                   Chirac told the news conference.

                   "It must be global," he said. "That is to say that in this particular
                   case it must, without a doubt, encompass both Syria and
                   Lebanon at the same time."

                   The position stated by Chirac during his third visit to Lebanon in
                   just over two years was firmly in line with that of the Syrian and
                   Lebanese governments, which have insisted any peace talks
                   with Israel must encompass the concerns of both countries.

                   Chirac, who during his visit emphasized French political and
                   cultural links to the country it ruled earlier this century, attended
                   the 28th General Assembly of the International Association of
                   Francophone Mayors later yesterday before flying out of the
                   Lebanese capital in the afternoon for Paris.

                   The position adopted by Chirac was described by an official
                   here as "catering to what he deems to be the prevailing
                   sentiment in the Arab world."

                   Highly-placed critics of the French president's statements in
                   Lebanon contended that he found it convenient and expedient
                   "to adopt the Arab position" and assumed that he considers this
                   "smart foreign policy."