Israel has decided to withdraw from the north part of Lebanese border village of Ghajar and hand it over to the UN peacekeeping force in southern Lebanon, Israeli daily Yedioth Ahronoth reported on Sunday.

Straddling the Israeli-Lebanese border, north part of Ghajar locates on the Lebanese side but was occupied by Israel with an aim of preventing arms smuggling and infiltrations.

Under the UN mediation, Israeli Security Cabinet has finally agreed to withdraw from the north part of Ghajar.

It was the first kind of such agreement reached under UN mediation in Lebanon without Hezbollah's intervention, said the report.

Meanwhile, an Israel Defense Forces spokesman also confirmed to Xinhua that the withdrawal proposal has been approved by the cabinet, but said that the withdrawal has not started so far.

Ghajar's residents, including those living the Lebanese part, hold Israeli ID cards and enjoy Israeli infrastructure and state service, which prevented Israel and Lebanon from reaching an agreement on the matter which would have split the village in two.

However, Israel seeks to resolve the Ghajar issue after this summer's 34-day Israel-Hezbollah conflict.

(Xinhua News Agency December 4, 2006)