Annan: Shaba Farms Is a ‘Thorn in Need of Extraction’
This article is from the archive of The New York Sun before the launch of its new website in 2022. The Sun has neither altered nor updated such articles but will seek to correct any errors, mis-categorizations or other problems introduced during transfer.

UNITED NATIONS – In a move that could strengthen the position of the terrorist group Hezbollah, Secretary-General Annan told Prime Minister Sharon that an Israeli-held area known as Shaba Farms is “a thorn” in the region, according to a U.N. spokesman. Israelis, who have no plans to leave the strategic plateau, said the statement indicated a major shift by Mr. Annan.
Five years ago, at the request of the U.N. Security Council, Mr. Annan determined that Israel had completely ended its occupation of Lebanon in compliance with council resolutions. The future of Shaba Farms, Mr. Annan’s report at the time said, should be resolved as part of negotiations to end Israel’s dispute with Syria, which involve the entire Golan Heights area.
Hezbollah, however, has used Shaba as pretext for continuing its armed struggle against what it calls “the Israeli occupation of Lebanon.” By raising the issue with Mr. Sharon, Mr. Annan renewed hopes in Beirut – and fears in Jerusalem – that the Security Council’s demand to disarm Hezbollah might now be linked to an Israeli withdrawal from the strategic plateau.
European officials also signaled that Shaba might become tied up in renewed pressures on Israel to make further concessions following the completion of its Gaza disengagement. Yesterday, the British government’s Middle East point man, Kim Howells, told Al Arabiya television that the question of Shaba farms “should be subject to international arbitration.”
Israeli officials said they have no intentions to alter their country’s policy on Shaba Farms in the near future, stressing that the United Nations has already made its conclusion on the subject. Knesset member Ephraim Sneh of the Labor Party told The New York Sun yesterday that the Labor government of Ehud Barak spent much money and effort to coordinate the 2000 withdrawal with U.N. officials. The border, which Mr. Annan later called “the Blue Line,” was drawn only after maps and documents going back to the 19th century determined that Shaba Farms, known in Hebrew as Mt. Dov, had never belonged to Lebanon.
“This whole issue of Shaba Farms is fiction, made up by Hezbollah to continue its attacks against Israel,” a ranking member of the Knesset’s subcommittee on security and planning, Mr. Sneh, said. “For the United Nations to now be lured in by Hezbollah’s arguments is an alarming sign.” He noted that Hezbollah also claims seven villages in the Golan as part of Lebanon. “If we leave Shaba, they will demand those villages next,” he said.
In their meeting last week, Mr. Annan told Mr. Sharon that Shaba Farms remains one of the regional issues to be resolved, calling it “a thorn in need of extraction,” a U.N. spokesman, Stephane Dujarric, said yesterday. He said that Mr. Annan made no specific call or request for immediate action. The statement, first reported yesterday by the Israeli newspaper Maariv, was quickly picked up in the region, carried most prominently in the Lebanese press.
Lebanon’s army has little power to disarm Hezbollah and take control of the southern part of the country, as the Security Council has demanded. The government hopes to negotiate with the Iranian- and Syrian-backed militia instead. Prime Minister Fouad Siniora told the Washington Post yesterday that there is an “implicit understanding” that Hezbollah “will implement self-restraint,” rather than lay down its arms.
A Hezbollah commander in southern Lebanon, Sheik Nabil Kawook, told reporters yesterday that his forces will not comply with the U.N. disarmament resolution, according to news agencies’ reports. He also warned America against meddling in Lebanese affairs. “The Americans are choosing to repeat their mistakes in Lebanon,” he said, referring to the situation in Iraq.