The draft, created in a joint effort by the United States and France, calls in part for “a full cessation of hostilities based upon... the immediate cessation by Hizbullah of all attacks and the immediate cessation by Israel of all offensive military operations".
Under the resolution, Israel would retain the right to defend itself if fired upon by terrorists in south Lebanon, and would also remain on Lebanese soil until such time as UNIFIL (United Nations Interim Forces in Lebanon) forces are supplemented. Israel’s preference was an independent international peacekeeping force inasmuch as the current UNIFIL troops have been unable to prevent terror attacks on Israeli soil launched from Lebanon since they were introduced in 1978.
Hizbullah rejected the plan outright on Sunday, fully supported by the Lebanese government, which said it could not accept a resolution that allowed Israeli forces to remain on Lebanese soil. Israel refuses to withdraw from the region until an effective deterrent force is in effect.
Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, a Shi’ite Muslim who has close ties to Syria and who has served as the government’s link to Hizbullah terrorists since the war began on July 12th, said his government refused the draft. He underscored Lebanese insistence that it would only agree to its own seven-point proposal calling for an immediate ceasefire and withdrawal of Israeli troops as well as the return of all displaced Lebanese civilians, among other points.
“Lebanon - and all of Lebanon - rejects any resolution that is outside these seven points,” Berri told reporters at a Sunday news conference.
Israel, however, tentatively accepted the plan, despite the fact that the resolution mandated an increase in UNIFIL soldiers rather than immediate deployment of a separate multinational peacekeeping force.
The draft also calls for full implementation of U.N. Security Council Resolution 1559, which was never carried out by the government of Lebanon. Resolution 1559, passed in 2004, called for disarming and dismantling of terrorist organizations and “foreign” forces, and deployment of Lebanese army regulars to exercise full sovereignty of the area by the Lebanese government.
The Security Council is expected to vote on the draft by Tuesday, at the latest.
Under the resolution, Israel would retain the right to defend itself if fired upon by terrorists in south Lebanon, and would also remain on Lebanese soil until such time as UNIFIL (United Nations Interim Forces in Lebanon) forces are supplemented. Israel’s preference was an independent international peacekeeping force inasmuch as the current UNIFIL troops have been unable to prevent terror attacks on Israeli soil launched from Lebanon since they were introduced in 1978.
Hizbullah rejected the plan outright on Sunday, fully supported by the Lebanese government, which said it could not accept a resolution that allowed Israeli forces to remain on Lebanese soil. Israel refuses to withdraw from the region until an effective deterrent force is in effect.
Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, a Shi’ite Muslim who has close ties to Syria and who has served as the government’s link to Hizbullah terrorists since the war began on July 12th, said his government refused the draft. He underscored Lebanese insistence that it would only agree to its own seven-point proposal calling for an immediate ceasefire and withdrawal of Israeli troops as well as the return of all displaced Lebanese civilians, among other points.
“Lebanon - and all of Lebanon - rejects any resolution that is outside these seven points,” Berri told reporters at a Sunday news conference.
Israel, however, tentatively accepted the plan, despite the fact that the resolution mandated an increase in UNIFIL soldiers rather than immediate deployment of a separate multinational peacekeeping force.
The draft also calls for full implementation of U.N. Security Council Resolution 1559, which was never carried out by the government of Lebanon. Resolution 1559, passed in 2004, called for disarming and dismantling of terrorist organizations and “foreign” forces, and deployment of Lebanese army regulars to exercise full sovereignty of the area by the Lebanese government.
The Security Council is expected to vote on the draft by Tuesday, at the latest.