Beirut - The leader of Hezbollah deputies in the Lebanese parliament, Mohammad Raad, Wednesday rejected an initiative to place the Israeli-occupied Shebaa Farms under the control of the United Nations.

Raad told the Hezbollah-run al-Manar televison channel that such a move would prevent the militant group from achieving its goal of liberating the occupied territories.

The initiative to place the territory under the control of the United Nations was reportedly put forward by French President Nicolas Sarkozy, who visited Lebanon last week.

Newly elected President Michel Suleiman said Monday that he would provide the world body with documents "that will prove the Shebaa Farms belong to Lebanon."

Israel occupied the area in the 1967 war and has refused to return it on the grounds that its status is ambiguous.

According to the plan proposed to the UN, the Shebaa Farms would be demarcated and returned to Lebanon at some future stage. (dpa)