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Politics : WAR on Terror. Will it engulf the Entire Middle East? -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Scoobah who wrote (15418)	8/13/2006 8:24:09 AM
From: Scoobah	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 32591

Beirut says outright: No arms embargo, no Hizballah withdrawal from South Lebanon August 13, 2006, 1:03 PM (GMT+02:00) Prime minister Ehud Olmert faces heavy domestic opposition for accepting a ceasefire seen as a recipe tying the hands of the Israeli military while leaving Hizballah free to pursue acts of war unfettered except by a toothless UN force. Siniora government’s blunt “reservations” in its purported acceptance of the UN ceasefire resolution Saturday night effectively nullifies its main terms and spirit. The Lebanese government echoed Hassan Nasrallah's offer - with reservations - to abide by the cessation of hostilities - if the IDF quits Lebanon. In a speech broadcast Saturday afternoon, Aug. 12, the Hizballah leader said in response to the UN Security Council resolution of Friday: “The results of the firm stand of the Lebanese people are reasonable. Therefore, we will comply with a UN timetable for ceasing hostilities. We are ready to facilitate the return of refugees and displaced people to their homes. We also agree to the deployment of the Lebanese army strengthened by UNIFIL in the south. The Hizballah leader went on to say that Israel sees in the call to halt hostilities a permit to finish its ground operation. As long as Israeli soldiers are present on Lebanese soil, he said, we have the right to resist and we shall execute that right. Nasrallah laid down as his central condition for a partial halt in the war as being the April Understandings concluded in the 1998 Grapes of Wrath operation granted by Shimon Peres, then Israeli prime minister. They forbade Hizballah to harm civilians - only IDF soldiers. DEBKAfile’s sources add: This may be interpreted as an offer by Nasrallah to trade a halt his rocket attacks on Israeli civilians for an end to Israeli air force activity over Lebanon. Nasrallah goes on to maintain that the ongoing combat is pointless serving only Israel. There will be no comprehensive ceasefire before Israel’s retreat. It should not be mistakenly taken for granted that the war is over. We need to be vigilant, said Nasrallah, and not let the enemy achieve any successes. “Therefore, we are fighting on although in my opinion we are very close to the end of the war.” Nasrallah made no mention of the kidnapped Israeli soldiers or whether Hizballah planned to stay in South Lebanon.