LEBANON: Government agrees unanimously to U.N. Security Council resolution to end fighting between Israel and Hizbollah

The Lebanese government, which includes Hizbollah ministers, on Saturday (August 12) agreed unanimously to a U.N. Security Council resolution to end fighting between Israel and Hizbollah. "After long and intense discussions and despite a number of reservations, the council of ministers has decided to unanimously approve (the U.N. Security Council resolution)," said Information Minister Ghazi Aridi. Asked to list the government's reservations, Aridi said that would take 'too long'. The cabinet would meet on Sunday (August 13) to discuss implementation of the resolution, said Aridi. Earlier, President George W. Bush told Siniora that he hopes a new U.N. resolution will dismantle what he called Hizbollah's "state within a state" in southern Lebanon. "The American president should dismantle the terrorist state in Israel and disarm the weapons of the terrorists on Lebanese territory, and stop Israeli terrorists aggression in Lebanon. We in Lebanon know what are the steps that we should take in order to ensure the protection and security of our people and our stability," said Aridi. Prime Minister Fouad Siniora had earlier described the resolution as a triumph for Lebanese negotiators compared to an initial draft. Hizbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah said the resolution had negative aspects but could have been worse. The U.N. resolution called for a "full cessation of hostilities" and authorised up to 15,000 U.N. troops to move in to enforce a ceasefire. It said Hizbollah must halt all attacks and Israel must stop "all offensive military operations". The resolution stipulates that after fighting stops, Israel must withdraw all its forces from Lebanon at the earliest opportunity, in tandem with a U.N.-Lebanese troop deployment. Also on Saturday, the European Union's foreign policy chief Javier Solana welcomed the U.N. Security Council resolution to end the month-long war between Israel and Hizbollah. Solana was in Beirut for talks with Lebanese officials to discuss progress in resolving the month-long conflict. He met Fouad Siniora as well Lebanon's Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, a Shi'ite who negotiated on the text of the draft resolution on behalf of Hizbollah. Also on his agenda was a meeting with Minister of Social Affairs Lala Mouawad. Afterwards at a news conference, Solana insisted the U.N. resolution would end the hostilities. "You ask me that question, I will give you an answer, what I think. I think this resolution will be applied and I think it will be the end of the war." He also dismissed suggestions that there was a possibility of civil war returning to the country. "I can tell you that anything about a civil war in Lebanon is out of the question. It is out of the question. I have seen a leadership which is united, I have a leadership which is united in applying the resolution, in trying to push the country forward, in trying to make the development of the country as soon as possible, in trying to do in co-operation with the international community," he said. Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert will urge his cabinet to approve the resolution at a meeting on Sunday (August 13). An Israeli official said the army would not halt its offensive before that meeting. The Israeli army said on Saturday it had started broadening its ground offensive in southern Lebanon and its forces were pushing towards the Litani river, up to 20 km (13 miles) from the Israeli border. The war erupted after Hizbollah's July 12 capture of two Israeli soldiers in a cross-border raid. The fighting has killed at least 1,060 people in Lebanon, mostly civilians, and 124 Israelis.

ITN Source | August 13, 2006

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