BEIRUT, May 25 (AFP) - The Israeli-backed South Lebanon Army militia is preparing to pull its forces out of the Christian town of Jezzine according to information given to the Lebanese government by a local notable, a news agency reported here Tuesday. Former Jezzine MP and government minister Edmond Rizk told Prime Minister Salim Hoss of "an order from the SLA high command to its 20th Brigade to prepare to withdraw from Jezzine," the privately-owned Al-Markaziya news agency said. "SLA members have been informed that if they choose to remain with their families, they do so at their own risk," Rizk told the prime minister according to the news agency. Officials said the Lebanese government would move swiftly to take over security responsibility in the event of an SLA withdrawal and noted a Lebanese army barracks already existed in the town. "The Lebanese state is ready to fill any vacuum," they said. Israel insists Jezzine lies outside the "security zone" it occupies in south Lebanon although it maintains an intelligence presence and sends Israeli troops to reinforce the SLA militia as required. Morale in the SLA has been hurt by a string of attacks in recent weeks by the Shiite Moslem militant group Hezbollah as well as by Israeli public opinion, which is demanding a withdrawal from the "security zone." Prime Minister-elect Ehud Barak says he intends to pull the Israeli military out of Lebanon within a year.  