No let up in Lebanon war
No let up in Lebanon war
Israeli troops battled with Hezbollah in south Lebanon and warplanes hit roads and bridges across the country on Sunday.

Beirut: Israeli troops fought gun battles with Hezbollah in south Lebanon and warplanes hit roads and bridges across the country on Sunday, hours after the UN Security Council received a draft resolution to end the war.

President Bush, whose country is Israel's chief ally, was happy with the French-US draft that could be put to the vote on Monday or Tuesday.

But Lebanon said the text fell short of what it wanted to halt the 26-day-old conflict that has killed at least 800 people.

"We would have liked to see our concerns more reflected in the text," Lebanese Foreign Ministry official Nouhad Mahmoud said at the United Nations.

"Unfortunately, it lacked, for instance, a call for the withdrawal of Israeli forces which are now in Lebanon. That is a recipe for more confrontation," he said.

The draft resolution calls for a "full cessation of hostilities based upon, in particular, the immediate cessation by Hezbollah of all attacks and the immediate cessation by Israel of all offensive military operations".

A second resolution is envisaged a week or two after the first is adopted, setting down conditions for a permanent ceasefire and authorising an international force in the area.

A senior political source told Reuters in Beirut on Sunday Lebanon "does not agree with the resolution" and would circulate its own proposals among the world body's 15-member council.

Lebanon wants any UN resolution to stick to the terms of a seven-point peace plan that the cabinet, including Hizbollah, has endorsed.

The Lebanese plan calls for an immediate ceasefire, the withdrawal of Israeli forces from southern Lebanon, the return home of displaced Lebanese, the deployment of UN and Lebanese forces in the south and the disarmament of Hizbollah.

What's your reaction?

Comments

https://sharpss.com/assets/images/user-avatar-s.jpg

0 comment

Write the first comment for this!