Another round of talks over Lebanon

Press, 31 December 1982, Page 10

Another round of talks over Lebanon

NZPA-Reuter Kiryat Shmona A second round of talks on an Israeli troop withdrawal from Lebanon was expected to open today in the northern border town of Kiryat Shmona. A six-member Israeli delegation was due to meet American and Lebanese delegates in a community centre which has been preparing all week for the negotiations aimed at achieving peace between Israel and neighbouring Lebanon. The town, a main target

for Palestinian guerrilla shelling before Israel’s invasion of Lebanon, has decked its streets with municipal flags to welcome the delegates. Israeli officials have sought to play down differences with Lebanon over the talks which began bn Tues--day in the Beirut suburb of Khalde; Israeli Radio reported that talks might continue if progress was made. Israel wants restoration of. normal ’ relations with Lebanon to top the agenda

while the Lebanese see a withdrawal of Israeli troops from their country as the first priority. A possible solution could be setting up sub-committees that would deal with withdrawal and normalisation concurrently, said one Israeli official. The talks will be held in a dance studio of the community centre; renovated after the top two floors of the three-storey building collapsed in a direct hit by Palestinian shell-fire in 1981.