| U.N. 'very close' to Lebanon cease-fire plan |
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| Written by david | |
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"We are now very, very close to an agreement and our aspiration is to have a vote at the end of the afternoon," Bolton said. At 9:45 a.m., the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council went into session. U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice arrived earlier and met with U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan. Although the United States and France have agreed on wording for the proposed resolution, they will likely need to alter the language to win approval from the Israelis, the Lebanese and other council members, a senior State Department official said. Crafting the language is a delicate operation, the official added. "It is about making the language right and making sure both parties can implement it." The resolution calls for the withdrawal of Israeli troops from southern Lebanon to coincide with a Lebanese deployment of troops in the area, the official said. Meanwhile, diplomatic efforts in the region were moving quickly, with U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs David Welch shuttling between Lebanon and Israel. A main question is whether Lebanon's government will sign off on a resolution that gives a U.N. mission the mandate to use force, diplomatic sources said Thursday. Sticking points have been Lebanon's insistence on an immediate Israeli withdrawal from southern Lebanon -- a move Israel says it won't make without guarantees of its border security -- and the timing of the deployment of government and U.N. troops to southern Lebanon. Annan prodded the Security Council to act by week's end, "to save civilians on both sides from the nightmare they have endured for the past four weeks." (Watch why Arabs are leaving Israel -- 2:42) War in 31st day The Israeli military denied the Hezbollah claim, AP said. While Hezbollah says it has struck several Israeli vessels, Israel says there has been only one hit, a strike on July 14 that killed four Israeli sailors, AP reported. In Lebanon on Friday, the southern suburbs of Beirut were rocked by at least 11 explosions from Israeli airstrikes. In northern Lebanon, Israeli airstrikes on a bridge near the Syrian border killed 11 Lebanese civilians and wounded 13, according to Lebanese Internal Security Forces. The bridge was between Abboudiyeh and the Aarida crossing, sources said. Five Israeli soldiers were hurt, but not seriously, Friday during operations in Qantara, east of the port city of Tyre, the Israel Defense Forces said. Also Friday, a U.N. convoy departed the Lebanese army base in Marjeyoun, helping to evacuate Lebanese soldiers and police, Lebanese Internal Security Forces and a U.N. Forces in Lebanon spokesman said. Two UNIFIL armored personnel carriers escorted the convoy, which consisted of 80 Lebanese security force vehicles carrying more than 350 members of the Lebanese security forces, plus 100 civilian vehicles. The civilians, many who have been trapped in southern Lebanon for weeks, had come to the base Thursday in hope of getting safe passage out of the battlefield. The base in a largely Christian town was occupied Thursday by Israeli forces as they moved toward a nearby area known as place where Hezbollah fighters fired rockets into Israel, Lebanese military intelligence and Lebanese police told CNN. (Watch as Israel puts more pressure on Hezbollah -- 2:49) Thirty-one days of fighting have killed 123 Israelis, including 40 civilians, and 861 Lebanese, mostly civilians, according to authorities in those countries. The conflict began July 12. Israeli attacks were prompted by the Shiite Muslim militia Hezbollah kidnapping two Israeli soldiers and killing three others in a raid into northern Israel. Trackback(0)
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