LEBANON: World powers say deal on U.N. resolution to end Israel's war with Hizbollah guerrillas was in sight

World powers said on Friday a deal on a U.N. resolution to end Israel's war with Hizbollah guerrillas was in sight, but Israel ordered its month-old offensive to be expanded in case diplomacy fails. There was no immediate let-up in the violence in Lebanon and Israel. Air raids killed another 19 people in Lebanon. An Israeli soldier was reported killed in fighting and Hizbollah rockets wounded seven people in northern Israel. More bombs hit Beirut's battered Shi'ite Muslim suburbs, hours after dawn raids on the capital. Many people fled the suburbs on Thursday after Israel dropped warning leaflets. Hizbollah, whose seizure of two Israeli soldiers sparked the war on July 12, fired more than 55 rockets into Israel, wounding seven people, police and ambulance staff said. Hizbollah's Al-Manar television said on Friday that the guerilla group targeted an Israeli vessel off the coast of Tyre. A video handout showed smoke rising in the direction of the sea. It was not immediately clear what the smoke was caused from or what was burning. Israel denied that a warship had been hit. On July 31, Hizbollah said its guerrillas hit an Israeli warship with rockets off the coast of the south Lebanese port city of Tyre. Meanwhle, EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana arrived in Beirut on Friday (August 11), to push efforts to stop the war between Hizbollah and Israel. Solana met Prime Minister Fouad Siniora to discuss the crisis and will meet other Lebanese officials on Saturday. He will head to Israel and the Palestinian territories on Sunday, a statement from his office said. It will be Solana's third trip to the region since fighting between Israeli forces and Hizbollah began a month ago. It comes at a time when the U.N. Security Council has been divided over approving a resolution to halt fighting and stabilise the area with the deployment of an international force to back the Lebanese army. An EU diplomat said Solana would be stating the EU's views and looking to make progress towards a resolution at the Security Council. "The point of view of the Security Council is moving forward, there is hope. There are still some problems but I hope we will be able to sort them out here and there, the problems that still exist. But it is in everyone's interest, everyone, to find a quick solution, a solution that will at least allow a ceasefire. And from there, start dealing with political reconstruction, physical reconstruction, for Lebanon," Solana told reporters upon arrival. Other EU members Italy, Finland, Poland, Sweden and Spain have been considering sending peacekeepers to Lebanon, but the 25 member states have been divided over how to proceed. Solana will be followed to the region by the EU's aid commissioner, Louis Michel. The U.S.-French draft resolution calls for a "cessation of hostilities". Lebanon wants a quick Israeli pullout, but Israel says a strong multinational force must be deployed first. The latest compromise calls for a phased Israeli withdrawal as the Lebanese army moves into the south. At the same time, the U.N. Interim Force in Lebanon would be reinforced by up to 15,000 French and other troops. As part of the deal, Hizbollah would pull out from south of the Litani River, 20 km (13 miles) from the Israeli border. A second resolution on a permanent ceasefire would follow within a month, tackling a range of outstanding issues, including the release of the two soldiers held by Hizbollah. Israel will reserve the right to re-enter Lebanon in future if the proposed U.N. force fails to stop Hizbollah fighters from returning to the border, a top military official said.

ITN Source | August 13, 2006

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