Lebanese Foreign Minister Faouzi Salouah said, "We will not accept any proposal before an immediate and absolute ceasefire. Rice is merely giving Olmert extra time."
Click "play" to watch rockets fired from Kafr Kana
click here if video does not appear
Meanwhile, a stormy Knesset session on the Lebanese war was taking place late this morning and early this afternoon, with three Arab MKs being thrown out of the Knesset plenum.
Lebanon Rejects Rice
Lebanon's stance against Israel was expressed particularly stridently this morning by Lebanese President Emil Lahoud. "The first clause in our army's orders is, 'Israel is the enemy,'" he told Al-Jazeera. Lahoud praised Hizbullah, saying, "Hizbullah's victory will be all of Lebanon's victory," and said that Rice "wants to force a multi-national force upon us and wants to coerce Hizbullah to disarm. This would be the worst thing that could happen, because now we are winning." The Lebanese President said that if Israel invades Lebanon, the Lebanese Army will fight back.
A Hizbullah MP (Parliament Member) Fedallah also said that his organization would not conduct any negotiations before a ceasefire is implemented.
After firing a record-breaking 150 Katyushas at Israel yesterday, including about 90 at Kiryat Shmonah, Hizbullah had fired only four Katyusha rockets into Israel by 5 PM opn Monday. Hizbullah denies, however, having agreed to stop firing Katyushas. The terrorists fired an anti-tank missile at Israeli forces this afternoon, lightly wounding three soldiers.
Israel's self-imposed aerial ceasefire - decided upon solely by Prime Minister Ehud Olmert - went into effect at 2 AM this morning, shortly after the Israel Air Force bombed targets in eastern Lebanon. The IDF denied Hizbullah claims that the offensive occurred at 7 AM. Seven soldiers were wounded in yesterday's fighting, including two in "moderate" condition, and at least eight Hizbullah terrorists were killed.
Knesset Ruckus
The Knesset held a special session on the war today, turning into a scene of parliamentary bedlam during Defense Minister Amir Peretz's speech. Three Arab MKs were thrown out of the plenum by Speaker Dalia Itzik, beginning with Ibrahim Tzartzour, who called Peretz a "child murderer."
Peretz said that Israel cannot agree to an immediate ceasefire, "because then we will find ourselves back in the same position a few months from now." He said that the worst thing is that the Lebanese government "abandoned its civilian population in the south of the country to the hands of [Hizbullah leader] Nasrallah, who turned the population into a defensive shield for his terrorists."
Peretz tried to defend Israel's morality in light of the accidental bombing of the Kafr Kana building yesterday: "I spoke to a soldier who said he saw a terrorist with an RPG in one hand and holding a little girl in the other, and he said that he didn't shoot. I asked him why, and he said he was afraid he might hit the girl. That's the IDF ethic! I am proud of that soldier and his decision."
No MK was heard interrupting at that time, but Trade Minister Eli Yeshai (Shas) later told Arutz-7, "There is no army that is more ethical than the IDF, period. But at the same time, no one should endanger himself just because some crazy terrorist wants to use a girl as a human shield."
Opposition leader Binyamin Netanyahu then spoke and blessed Defense Minister Peretz "on your important work." Netanyahu then saluted the army "in the name of all the MKs" - but then was forced to correct himself and say "in the name of almost all the MKs" when Arab MKs interrupted him with sharp words against the IDF.
Netanyahu said that Hizbullah represents a "strategic threat" which must be met with "a strategic victory." He called upon the government not to give up, not to stop in the middle of attaining its goals, and not to cede its objective of dismantling Hizbullah.
Referring to the IAF bombing of Kana that killed 54 Lebanese adults and children, Netanyahu said,
"I was interviewed yesterday by a British station and they asked me what I thought about Israeli pilots bombing children. I said, 'If you’re asking, I'll tell you: This is as just a war as any that has ever been fought - but I can recall another just war, World War II, when Britain's Royal Air Force went to bomb the Gestapo headquarters in Copenhagen, but the bombers missed and hit a children's hospital nearby, killing 83 Danish children inside. This is a tragedy of war, but it happens. Unlike the other side, which rejoices when our children are killed, we are truly sorry when it happens, and we really and truly try to reduce casualties on the other side."
Arab MK Zehalke then yelled out, "You really believe those lies?!" at which point Speaker Dalia Itzik lost her cool and called out, "MK Zehalke, once, twice, three times, get out!" Knesset ushers then forced Zehalke out of the Knesset plenum.
MK Yitzchak Levy (National Union/National Religious Party) said, "What happened in Kana pains us, but it must be made clear: the responsibility lies totally with Hizbullah."
click here if video does not appear
Meanwhile, a stormy Knesset session on the Lebanese war was taking place late this morning and early this afternoon, with three Arab MKs being thrown out of the Knesset plenum.
Lebanon Rejects Rice
Lebanon's stance against Israel was expressed particularly stridently this morning by Lebanese President Emil Lahoud. "The first clause in our army's orders is, 'Israel is the enemy,'" he told Al-Jazeera. Lahoud praised Hizbullah, saying, "Hizbullah's victory will be all of Lebanon's victory," and said that Rice "wants to force a multi-national force upon us and wants to coerce Hizbullah to disarm. This would be the worst thing that could happen, because now we are winning." The Lebanese President said that if Israel invades Lebanon, the Lebanese Army will fight back.
A Hizbullah MP (Parliament Member) Fedallah also said that his organization would not conduct any negotiations before a ceasefire is implemented.
After firing a record-breaking 150 Katyushas at Israel yesterday, including about 90 at Kiryat Shmonah, Hizbullah had fired only four Katyusha rockets into Israel by 5 PM opn Monday. Hizbullah denies, however, having agreed to stop firing Katyushas. The terrorists fired an anti-tank missile at Israeli forces this afternoon, lightly wounding three soldiers.
Israel's self-imposed aerial ceasefire - decided upon solely by Prime Minister Ehud Olmert - went into effect at 2 AM this morning, shortly after the Israel Air Force bombed targets in eastern Lebanon. The IDF denied Hizbullah claims that the offensive occurred at 7 AM. Seven soldiers were wounded in yesterday's fighting, including two in "moderate" condition, and at least eight Hizbullah terrorists were killed.
Knesset Ruckus
The Knesset held a special session on the war today, turning into a scene of parliamentary bedlam during Defense Minister Amir Peretz's speech. Three Arab MKs were thrown out of the plenum by Speaker Dalia Itzik, beginning with Ibrahim Tzartzour, who called Peretz a "child murderer."
Peretz said that Israel cannot agree to an immediate ceasefire, "because then we will find ourselves back in the same position a few months from now." He said that the worst thing is that the Lebanese government "abandoned its civilian population in the south of the country to the hands of [Hizbullah leader] Nasrallah, who turned the population into a defensive shield for his terrorists."
Peretz tried to defend Israel's morality in light of the accidental bombing of the Kafr Kana building yesterday: "I spoke to a soldier who said he saw a terrorist with an RPG in one hand and holding a little girl in the other, and he said that he didn't shoot. I asked him why, and he said he was afraid he might hit the girl. That's the IDF ethic! I am proud of that soldier and his decision."
No MK was heard interrupting at that time, but Trade Minister Eli Yeshai (Shas) later told Arutz-7, "There is no army that is more ethical than the IDF, period. But at the same time, no one should endanger himself just because some crazy terrorist wants to use a girl as a human shield."
Opposition leader Binyamin Netanyahu then spoke and blessed Defense Minister Peretz "on your important work." Netanyahu then saluted the army "in the name of all the MKs" - but then was forced to correct himself and say "in the name of almost all the MKs" when Arab MKs interrupted him with sharp words against the IDF.
Netanyahu said that Hizbullah represents a "strategic threat" which must be met with "a strategic victory." He called upon the government not to give up, not to stop in the middle of attaining its goals, and not to cede its objective of dismantling Hizbullah.
Referring to the IAF bombing of Kana that killed 54 Lebanese adults and children, Netanyahu said,
"I was interviewed yesterday by a British station and they asked me what I thought about Israeli pilots bombing children. I said, 'If you’re asking, I'll tell you: This is as just a war as any that has ever been fought - but I can recall another just war, World War II, when Britain's Royal Air Force went to bomb the Gestapo headquarters in Copenhagen, but the bombers missed and hit a children's hospital nearby, killing 83 Danish children inside. This is a tragedy of war, but it happens. Unlike the other side, which rejoices when our children are killed, we are truly sorry when it happens, and we really and truly try to reduce casualties on the other side."
Arab MK Zehalke then yelled out, "You really believe those lies?!" at which point Speaker Dalia Itzik lost her cool and called out, "MK Zehalke, once, twice, three times, get out!" Knesset ushers then forced Zehalke out of the Knesset plenum.
MK Yitzchak Levy (National Union/National Religious Party) said, "What happened in Kana pains us, but it must be made clear: the responsibility lies totally with Hizbullah."