U.S. promotes alternative plan as Rome meet fails
July 27, 2006
By Assaf Uni?and Yoav Stern
The Rome summit on the situation in Lebanon ended with no clear results yesterday, after the United States shot down a joint European-Arab demand for an immediate cease-fire.
The 18 participants, including the U.S., Russia and European and Arab states, issued a joint statement expressing their ?determination to work immediately to reach with the utmost urgency a cease-fire that puts an end to the current violence and hostilities.? The statement, which was being hashed out until the last moment, also called for an international force to be deployed in South Lebanon under a UN mandate in order to help the Beirut government implement Security Council Resolution 1559, which calls for disarming Hezbollah and deploying the Lebanese army in the south. The statement also called for humanitarian aid to Lebanon.
The U.S., which fiercely opposed the calls for an immediate cease-fire, has been working on its own proposal for solving the conflict in Lebanon. Its initiative calls for Israel?s withdrawal from the Shaba Farms and a deployment of NATO forces to guarantee Hezbollah?s disarmament.
The London-based Arabic newspaper Al-Hayat quoted Lebanese sources yesterday as saying that Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice presented this proposal to officials in Beirut earlier this week.
While the U.S. initiative calls for transferring control of Shaba Farms to Lebanon, it stipulates that the permanent international border will not be determined if Syria continues to refuse to agree on the boundaries of this area. The UN is to be in charge of handing Shaba Farms over to Lebanon. Beirut claims that the international border in this area would extend Lebanon?s territory a few dozen kilometers into the Golan Heights. Syria has been keeping mum on its territorial demands in this area.
The American proposal also calls for a 20-kilometer-wide strip of southern Lebanon, starting at the Israeli border, to be declared a no-go zone for Hezbollah. An international force headed by NATO commanders, with authority to use both deterrent and offensive force, would be deployed in this strip to monitor and stabilize the situation. Ninety days after being deployed, this force would become a part of the UN-sponsored force, with the option of incorporating the UNIFIL troops currently serving in southern Lebanon.
One of the international force?s most difficult assignments will be to ensure that the Lebanese army controls all the weapons in the country. This would involve making the international force responsible for disarming Hezbollah and the Palestinian militias operating in Lebanon. The force would also monitor the Lebanese-Syrian border, an Israeli demand whose aim is to prevent Syria from continuing to supply Hezbollah with weapons.
According to Lebanese sources, Rice added Israel?s withdrawal from Shaba Farms to the initiative under pressure from Lebanese officials, including Prime Minister Fuad Siniora. However, neither Rice nor Lebanese leaders made statements to the media following her visit, the atmosphere of which was described as ?tense.?
Syria, meanwhile, reiterated its willingness to contribute to an arrangement in Lebanon yesterday. Foreign Minister Walid Muallem told the Italian newspaper La Repubblica: ?We are ready to intervene and take a positive role. We ask the U.S. to pressure Israel to agree to a cease-fire and prisoner release.?
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Saudi Arabia: Foreign Minister attends Rome conference on Lebanon
By Assaf Uni?and Yoav Stern
The Rome summit on the situation in Lebanon ended with no clear results yesterday, after the United States shot down a joint European-Arab demand for an immediate cease-fire.
The 18 participants, including the U.S., Russia and European and Arab states, issued a joint statement expressing their ?determination to work immediately to reach with the utmost urgency a cease-fire that puts an end to the current violence and hostilities.? The statement, which was being hashed out until the last moment, also called for an international force to be deployed in South Lebanon under a UN mandate in order to help the Beirut government implement Security Council Resolution 1559, which calls for disarming Hezbollah and deploying the Lebanese army in the south. The statement also called for humanitarian aid to Lebanon.
The U.S., which fiercely opposed the calls for an immediate cease-fire, has been working on its own proposal for solving the conflict in Lebanon. Its initiative calls for Israel?s withdrawal from the Shaba Farms and a deployment of NATO forces to guarantee Hezbollah?s disarmament.
The London-based Arabic newspaper Al-Hayat quoted Lebanese sources yesterday as saying that Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice presented this proposal to officials in Beirut earlier this week.
While the U.S. initiative calls for transferring control of Shaba Farms to Lebanon, it stipulates that the permanent international border will not be determined if Syria continues to refuse to agree on the boundaries of this area. The UN is to be in charge of handing Shaba Farms over to Lebanon. Beirut claims that the international border in this area would extend Lebanon?s territory a few dozen kilometers into the Golan Heights. Syria has been keeping mum on its territorial demands in this area.
The American proposal also calls for a 20-kilometer-wide strip of southern Lebanon, starting at the Israeli border, to be declared a no-go zone for Hezbollah. An international force headed by NATO commanders, with authority to use both deterrent and offensive force, would be deployed in this strip to monitor and stabilize the situation. Ninety days after being deployed, this force would become a part of the UN-sponsored force, with the option of incorporating the UNIFIL troops currently serving in southern Lebanon.
One of the international force?s most difficult assignments will be to ensure that the Lebanese army controls all the weapons in the country. This would involve making the international force responsible for disarming Hezbollah and the Palestinian militias operating in Lebanon. The force would also monitor the Lebanese-Syrian border, an Israeli demand whose aim is to prevent Syria from continuing to supply Hezbollah with weapons.
According to Lebanese sources, Rice added Israel?s withdrawal from Shaba Farms to the initiative under pressure from Lebanese officials, including Prime Minister Fuad Siniora. However, neither Rice nor Lebanese leaders made statements to the media following her visit, the atmosphere of which was described as ?tense.?
Syria, meanwhile, reiterated its willingness to contribute to an arrangement in Lebanon yesterday. Foreign Minister Walid Muallem told the Italian newspaper La Repubblica: ?We are ready to intervene and take a positive role. We ask the U.S. to pressure Israel to agree to a cease-fire and prisoner release.?
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Saudi Arabia: Foreign Minister attends Rome conference on Lebanon
posted by HRM Deborah of Israel and the Messenger of Peace at 6:54 PM
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