Ignoring claims by Lebanon that Israel is still "infringing" on its territory at several points along the border between the two countries, the UN Secretary-General, Mr Kofi Annan, yesterday verified Israel's military pullout.
"I'm delighted to tell you that the United Nations force in Lebanon has today reported to me that Israel has withdrawn from the country," Mr Annan told a press conference at the UN, adding that Israel had therefore complied with the relevant UN resolutions.
Mr Annan thus cleared the way for an expanded Unifil force to deploy along the border, and said he hoped the Lebanese government would now send troops to southern Lebanon to exert control in the areas vacated last month by Israel. However, with Lebanese reservations about the pullout, personal encouragement may be required, and Mr Annan is preparing to visit the region early next week.
The US Secretary of State, Ms Madeleine Albright, is also heading for the Middle East, making what could well prove the last effort by the outgoing Clinton administration to mediate a breakthrough in Israeli-Palestinian peace talks.
For all the accusations on both sides of foot-dragging and unacceptable demands, teams of negotiators are still hard at work in Washington, and Ms Albright's task will be to see whether differences have narrowed sufficiently to justify a summit meeting between President Clinton, the Palestinian President, Mr Yasser Arafat, and the Israeli Prime Minister, Mr Ehud Barak.