MIDDLE EAST: Kofi Annan meets with Israeli and Palestinian leaders as Israel rejects call by the U.N. Secretary General to lift its air and sea blockade of Lebanon

Israel rejected a call by U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan on Wednesday (August 30) to lift its air and sea blockade of Lebanon, saying it would only end the 7-week-old siege once all aspects of a ceasefire were in place. Prime Minister Ehud Olmert also told Annan he would not withdraw Israeli troops from southern Lebanon until the ceasefire, which took effect on August 14 and put an end to 34 days of conflict with Hizbollah, was fully implemented. Olmert's statements effectively amounted to a rejection of the two main issues Annan had come to Jerusalem to discuss, but Annan later played down the differences of opinion, saying his and Olmert's thinking was not so far apart. Earlier, during an hour of talks with Olmert, Annan said he pressed for a lifting of the embargo, imposed after the start of the war against Hizbollah on July 12, on economic grounds. "We have about 2,500 troops on the ground now and we are going to try and double that number and get it to 5,000 in the coming days and weeks and I hope that as we do that the Israeli withdrawal will continue and by the time we are at that level Israel would have fully withdrawn and we will have an effective credible force on the ground," Annan told reporters at a press conference in Jerusalem. Olmert said any relaxation of pressure on Lebanon's ports and airspace depended on the full implementation of U.N. resolution 1701, which governs the ceasefire with Hizbollah. "This (Resolution 1701) is a fixed buffet and everything will be implemented, including the lifting of the blockade, as part of the entire implementation of the different articles. The desire of Israelis to pullout of Lebanon as soon as possible according to the resolution once the international force will be deployed. I heard what the secretary general said I am happy about it," he said. Olmert was equally firm when Annan suggested Israel should withdraw its troops from Lebanon within "days or weeks", once up to 5,000 U.N.-backed peacekeepers are on the ground. Olmert also reiterated his call for the U.N. force to be deployed not just in southern Lebanon but along the border with Syria, a deployment that the U.N. resolution makes dependent on a request from the Lebanese government. Annan, in Jerusalem after visiting Lebanon, had made lifting the blockade his top priority, after describing it as a "humiliation" for Lebanon as well as an economic millstone. The secretary-general said he hoped to double to 5,000 the number of U.N. troops in Lebanon soon and urged Israel and Hizbollah to end swiftly disputes blocking a lasting ceasefire. "My main objective is to work with Israel and Lebanon to ensure that we implement resolution 1701," Annan told reporters ahead of his meeting with the Israeli Minister of Foreign Affairs Tzipi Livni. Livni reiterated Israeli demands saying that Israel wants: "unconditional release of the hostages, there is a need to enforce the arm embargo and there is a need to see a quick deployment of the Lebanese army plus robust effective international force to the south part of Lebanon and of course the disarmament of any militia in Lebanon including the Hizbollah." Annan comforted the Israeli Foreign Minster by explaining that the resolutions clearly call for disarmament of Hizbollah and others. "The security council is very clear, first in (resolutions) 1559, 1680 and in 1701 that all militia should be disarmed in Lebanon," Annan said at the press conference which took place at the Israeli foreign ministry in Jerusalem. On Tuesday, Israeli Defence Minister Amir Peretz said Israel would pull out thousands of troops once a "reasonable" number of U.N. soldiers had been deployed, but did not give a figure. Resolution 1701 calls for a deployment of 15,000 U.N. peacekeepers by Nov. 4, alongside Lebanese army forces. In another sign that Annan had made little progress in his discussions with Israeli leaders, he did not take questions from journalists after meeting Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni and neither was forthcoming about their hour-long talks. Annan restricted himself to saying he hoped resolution 1701 could be the basis for a durable peace. Annan later said while in the West Bank town of Ramallah that he would travel to Syria and Iran, Hizbollah's backers, later this week. On a visit to southern Lebanon on Tuesday, Annan said "serious irritants" to the truce were also the fate of abducted Israeli soldiers and that of Lebanese prisoners held in Israel. Annan also met with veteran Israeli politician and peace prize winner Shimon Peres, both leaders expressed hope that this could be the start of a major change to the better in the troubled region. "We have to think that its a new beginning that we have to continue on a positive way," Shimon Peres told reporters. Italy's first contingent of 800 troops, out of an eventual 3,000 pledged, set sail on Tuesday on what Rome said would be a "long and risky" mission. The aircraft carrier Garibaldi and four other naval ships were due to reach Lebanon by Friday. France promised to send a 900-strong battalion before the middle of September, with a second battalion to follow. About two dozen Spanish troops began a reconnaissance mission to Beirut on Wednesday, ahead of a larger deployment. The United Nations hopes to create a buffer zone in south Lebanon free of Israeli or Hizbollah forces and policed by the expanded U.N. force alongside some 15,000 Lebanese troops. It is hoping Muslim nations will send troops to balance the 7,000 or so pledged by European countries. The Turkish government has agreed in principle to a deployment but needs a parliamentary approval, with a meeting set for Sept. 5. The war killed nearly 1,200 people in Lebanon, mainly civilians, and 157 Israelis, mostly soldiers. Later on Wednesday U.N. secretary-general Kofi Annan travelled to the West Bank city of Ramallah where he met with the Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas and voiced support for the formation of a Palestinian unity government that Palestinian leaders hope could ease foreign sanctions imposed after Hamas won elections. "This is a very important process," Annan said after meeting President Mahmoud Abbas, who has renewed efforts to create a political partnership between his Fatah movement and the governing Hamas militant group. "Its a government for a national unity that means it will include all palestinian parties including organisations and international community the mission of this government is to be able to move forward locally, in the arab world and internationally," Abbas later explained at a joint press conference held by him and the UN secretary general. Western donor nations have been withholding aid to the Palestinian Authority since Hamas, rejecting their demands to recognise Israel, renounce violence and accept previous interim peace deals, came to power after winning a January election. The sanctions have deepened economic crisis in the occupied West Bank and in the Gaza Strip, where government workers have gone unpaid since March. "The suffering of the palestinian people must not be forgotten as we strive to bring peace to Lebanon," Annan said. "President Abbas and I fully agree that an end to the occupation and creation of the Palestinian state living side by side with israel is the key to solving the problems of this troubled region," Annan added. Abbas said he would travel to Gaza later in the day to discuss a unity government with Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh, the Palestinian Prime Minister who is a Hamas leader.

ITN Source | August 31, 2006

Tags:. .robust. .irritants. .hizbollahs. .peres. .deepened