Israel-Hezbollah conflict

“Unfortunately, the Hezbollah has hidden some of their missiles in private homes. And we are telling those persons, gentlemen, ‘Either you get rid of the missiles or leave your home. But we shall not wait until you will fire the missile over our heads,’ Peres said.

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Despite international appeals, the Bush administration has refused to press Israel for a prompt end to its campaign against Hezbollah. Instead, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is trying to drum up support for what she called a cease-fire of “lasting value” — one that envisions the Lebanese army taking over the south, where guerrillas have waged a cross-border war against Israel for years.

Rice will discuss the Mideast on Thursday evening in New York with U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan and the European Union foreign policy chief, a U.N. official said.

She is likely to visit the region this weekend. State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said only that her trip would come “in the near future,” telling CNN the timing would depend upon “when she thinks it’s most useful and most effective.”

British Prime Minister Tony Blair also rejected calls for Israel to declare a unilateral cease-fire, insisting Hezbollah must first free the captured Israeli soldiers and stop firing rockets at the Jewish state.

— NBC News, 19/7/06


Israel said on Sunday it was prepared to back the deployment of a temporary international peacekeeping force in southern Lebanon to ensure Hezbollah is removed from its border and to prevent the group from re-arming.

“Due to the weakness of the Lebanese army, we support the deployment in the south (of Lebanon) of a multi-national force with broad authority,” Defense Minister Amir Peretz told German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier.

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Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said a final decision has yet to be made but that any new force should be made up of European Union members, have combat experience and take control of Lebanon’s border crossings with Syria.

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A U.N. spokesman said a U.N. observer was seriously wounded by Hezbollah fire in south Lebanon.

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In Iran, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Israel had “pushed the button of its own destruction” by attacking Iranian-backed Hezbollah guerrillas in Lebanon.

— MSNBC, 23/7/06


Lebanon’s parliament speaker, Hezbollah’s de facto negotiator, rejected proposals brought by U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on Monday, insisting a cease-fire must precede any talks about resolving Hezbollah’s presence in the south, an official close to the speaker said.

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The U.S. has said an international force might be necessary to help the Lebanese army move into the south. The central government has long refused to send the army in, insisting Hezbollah is a legitimate force….

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In a brazen raid into Israel on July 12, Hezbollah killed eight and captured two Israeli soldiers, provoking Israel’s biggest military campaign against Lebanon in 24 years.

— Associated Press, 24/7/06


Rice paid a surprise visit to Beirut on the way to Israel, trying to push a blanket plan that would call for a cease-fire simultaneous with the deployment of international and Lebanese troops into southern Lebanon to prevent Hezbollah attacks on Israel.

Parliament speaker Nabih Berri, a prominent Shiite Muslim who has been negotiating on behalf of Hezbollah, rejected the idea and said a cease-fire should be immediate, leaving the other issues for much later.

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… U.N. humanitarian chief Jan Egeland accused Hezbollah of “cowardly blending” among Lebanese civilians.

“Consistently, from the Hezbollah heartland, my message was that Hezbollah must stop this cowardly blending ... among women and children,” Egeland said. “I heard they were proud because they lost very few fighters and that it was the civilians bearing the brunt of this. I don’t think anyone should be proud of having many more children and women dead than armed men.”

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An Israeli tank was hit by Hezbollah fire, they said. Hezbollah released no casualty figures. It has claimed 11 dead in the entire campaign, though Israel says it has killed more than 100 of its fighters.

— Associated Press, 25/7/06


A senior Hezbollah official said Tuesday the guerrillas did not expect
Israel to react with an all-out offensive after the capture of two soldiers, the first acknowledgment by the group that it had miscalculated the consequences of the raid two weeks ago.

Mahmoud Komati, deputy chief of the Hezbollah's political arm, also told The Associated Press in an interview that the Shiite militant group will not lay down arms.

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"The truth is — let me say this clearly — we didn't even expect (this) response …that (Israel) would exploit this operation for this big war against us," said Komati.

He said Hezbollah had expected "the usual, limited response" from Israel after the two soldiers were seized by guerrillas on Israel's side of the border on July 12.

In the past, he said, Israeli responses to Hezbollah actions included sending commandos into Lebanon, seizing Hezbollah officials and briefly targeting specific strongholds in southern Lebanon.

Komati said his group had anticipated negotiations to swap the Israeli soldiers for three Lebanese held in Israeli jails, with Germany acting as a mediator as it has in past prisoner exchanges.

— Associated Press, 25/7/06