It could take three months to fill the post-war “security vacuum” in southern Lebanon and even unintended breaches of a truce could restart fighting between Israel and Hezbollah, the United Nations said on Tuesday. “The situation is still extremely fragile,” senior UN envoy Terje Roed-Larsen told Reuters in an interview in Jerusalem. “Unintended incidents can kick off renewed violence, which might escalate and spin out of control.” Italy says it will send 2,000 to 3,000 soldiers as long as Israel holds to the terms of the truce. D’Alema will meet Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni in Rome on Thursday to discuss the peacekeeping effort.
| “Unintended incidents can kick off renewed violence, which might escalate and spin out of control...” |
DÂ’Alema held out hope that France might reconsider its offer of only 200 troops. It had originally been expected to contribute at least 2,000. Israeli Prime Minister Ehud OlmertÂ’s coalition government continued to face domestic problems stemming from the war in Lebanon. A top lawmaker in his Kadima party said the government was in trouble and should be reshuffled over a budget dispute. EU countries are due to meet in Brussels today (Wednesday) to clarify EU commitments.
Israel meanwhile expressed fears that the fighting could resume and vowed to learn the lessons from a litany of failures during the war to crush Hezbollah. “The ceasefire is fragile and makes for fears about a resumption of fighting, as long as the Lebanese army and international force are not deployed in southern Lebanon in keeping with UN Resolution 1701,” government spokesman Avi Pazner told AFP. EU foreign ministers will discuss possible troop contributions to a peacekeeping force in Lebanon at an emergency meeting on Friday, EU President Finland said in a statement. It added that UN Secretary General Kofi Annan would attend the talks in Brussels.
| “Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has conditioned the lifting of Israel’s air and sea blockade of Lebanon on the deployment of international troops at the Beirut airport and on Lebanon’s border with Syria...” |
Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has conditioned the lifting of Israel’s air and sea blockade of Lebanon on the deployment of international troops at the Beirut airport and on Lebanon’s border with Syria, public radio reported on Tuesday. Olmert made these demands in a meeting with UN envoy Terje Roed-Larsen. He reiterated that the “most important matter” for Israel is the liberation of two Israeli soldiers. The radio added that Roed-Larsen said UN Secretary General Kofi Annan would be travelling to Israel next week. Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has rejected Israeli demands for the deployment of international troops on the Lebanese-Syrian border to stop what Israel says is the smuggling of arms to Hezbollah. |