Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said Israel would not rush into a ceasefire before the IDF achieves its goals. “I think it needs to be clear that Israel is not in a hurry to have a ceasefire before we reach a situation in which we can say that we achieved the central goals that we set down for ourselves,” he said before the cabinet meeting. “This requires a ripening of the diplomatic process and a specific agreement.
Western and Arab nations alike condemned Israel’s attack on Sunday in which IDF forces destroyed a cluster of buildings in the southern Lebanese village of Qana. Some 55 civilians were killed. The village has been a central point from which long-range missiles have been fired by Hizbullah terrorists at northern Israeli communities, including the city of Afula, located some 90 kilometers from Qana and 75 kilometers north of Jerusalem.
Meanwhile, Lebanese Prime Minister Fuad Siniora said at a news conference on Sunday that he was grateful to the terrorists and their chief, Hassan Nasrallah, for “sacrificing their lives for the country.” He emphasized Lebanon’s support for the terror organization. “The entire Lebanese nation is united against the Israeli aggression,” he said.
The U.S. and Britain are working together on a resolution which would give an international peacekeeping force the authority to stop Hizbullah from restocking its arsenal after a ceasefire is in place and specifically delineate the force’s responsibilities.
The package worked out at Friday’s meeting between British Prime Minister Tony Blair and U.S. President George W. Bush would also include a call for international donors to help rebuild Lebanon. Disarming Hizbullah would not be a precondition for a ceasefire agreement under the plan.
The resolution would leave the issue of disarming the terrorist organization until after the force is in place and delegating the process to the Lebanese government. According to U.S. officials quoted by The Jerusalem Post, there is the possibility of integrating Hizbullah members in the regular Lebanese army.
Hizbullah reportedly agreed to last week’s ceasefire proposal by the Lebanese government that includes deployment of its army across the country, including the south, and enforcing a law that only the Lebanese army can carry weapons.
Israeli Vice Premier and elder statesman Shimon Peres, however, was dubious about the effectiveness of such an agreement. “[Lebanese Prime Minister Fuad] Siniora can tell Hizbulla to stop firing and there will be a ceasefire,” he told reporters while traveling in the U.S. on a diplomatic mission, “but the government there is acting like a side observer. When Hizbullah stops shooting, the tragedy will end.”
He added that Israel had no quarrel with the Lebanese people, but could not allow the terror organization to continue to function as a state within a state, and added that Siniora does not have control over his country.
U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Saturday that she welcomed Hizbullah’s willingness to accept the Lebanese proposal. “Obviously we are all trying to get to a ceasefire as quickly as possible,” she said, “so I will take this as a positive step.”
The Security Council is set to begin deliberations Monday on the specific details of setting up the peacekeeping force. France, India, Ireland, Italy, Poland and Turkey said they would send troops to participate.
Western and Arab nations alike condemned Israel’s attack on Sunday in which IDF forces destroyed a cluster of buildings in the southern Lebanese village of Qana. Some 55 civilians were killed. The village has been a central point from which long-range missiles have been fired by Hizbullah terrorists at northern Israeli communities, including the city of Afula, located some 90 kilometers from Qana and 75 kilometers north of Jerusalem.
Meanwhile, Lebanese Prime Minister Fuad Siniora said at a news conference on Sunday that he was grateful to the terrorists and their chief, Hassan Nasrallah, for “sacrificing their lives for the country.” He emphasized Lebanon’s support for the terror organization. “The entire Lebanese nation is united against the Israeli aggression,” he said.
The U.S. and Britain are working together on a resolution which would give an international peacekeeping force the authority to stop Hizbullah from restocking its arsenal after a ceasefire is in place and specifically delineate the force’s responsibilities.
The package worked out at Friday’s meeting between British Prime Minister Tony Blair and U.S. President George W. Bush would also include a call for international donors to help rebuild Lebanon. Disarming Hizbullah would not be a precondition for a ceasefire agreement under the plan.
The resolution would leave the issue of disarming the terrorist organization until after the force is in place and delegating the process to the Lebanese government. According to U.S. officials quoted by The Jerusalem Post, there is the possibility of integrating Hizbullah members in the regular Lebanese army.
Hizbullah reportedly agreed to last week’s ceasefire proposal by the Lebanese government that includes deployment of its army across the country, including the south, and enforcing a law that only the Lebanese army can carry weapons.
Israeli Vice Premier and elder statesman Shimon Peres, however, was dubious about the effectiveness of such an agreement. “[Lebanese Prime Minister Fuad] Siniora can tell Hizbulla to stop firing and there will be a ceasefire,” he told reporters while traveling in the U.S. on a diplomatic mission, “but the government there is acting like a side observer. When Hizbullah stops shooting, the tragedy will end.”
He added that Israel had no quarrel with the Lebanese people, but could not allow the terror organization to continue to function as a state within a state, and added that Siniora does not have control over his country.
U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Saturday that she welcomed Hizbullah’s willingness to accept the Lebanese proposal. “Obviously we are all trying to get to a ceasefire as quickly as possible,” she said, “so I will take this as a positive step.”
The Security Council is set to begin deliberations Monday on the specific details of setting up the peacekeeping force. France, India, Ireland, Italy, Poland and Turkey said they would send troops to participate.