The "Lebanese sovereignty" caveat set by Olmert involves two conditions: the proper demarcation of borders between Lebanon and Syria, and the deployment of Lebanese troops along the southern border. Olmert asked Chirac to exert pressure on the Lebanese government to deploy troops along the border with Israel when Tel Aviv pulls out of the last remaining region it still occupies in Lebanon.

The Shebaa Farms lie on the border between Lebanon, Syria and Israel. The mountainous region was seized by the Jewish State when it occupied the Golan Heights after the 1967 Arab-Israeli war.

When Israel ended its 22 year occupation and withdrew its troops from Southern Lebanon in 2000, U.N. cartographers declared Shebaa part of Syria, giving Israel the green light on U.N. Security Council 425 that demanded an end to its occupation of Lebanon.

However, Lebanon's political leaders have agreed that it is necessary to delineate the common border with Syria to officially confirm the Lebanese identity of Shebaa.

In May, the U.N. Security Council passed Resolution 1680 urging Syria to respond to the Lebanese government's request to demarcate the frontier and establish diplomatic relations with Beirut.

Syria rejected the resolution saying it was unprecedented international interference in bilateral relations.

Anti-Syrian Lebanese politicians argue that Syria does not want to confirm Lebanon's sovereignty over Shebaa as this would strip the Syrian-backed Hizbullah of its argument that it needs its weapons to liberate Lebanese territory still under Israeli occupation.

Hizbullah is the last Lebanese group that still possesses arms since the Civil War ended in 1990. It is under internal and international pressure to disarm in abidance with U.N. Security Council Resolution 1559 that calls on all militias in Lebanon to give up their weapons.

Despite its withdrawal in 2000, Israel still occasionally clashes with Hizbullah. The last border flare up was last month and followed the assassination of two Islamic Jihad leaders in Sidon allegedly by agents working for Israel who were recently captured.

Sources: An-Nahar, Ya Libnan