A ceasefire in the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah forces in Lebanon moved decisively closer on Saturday night after the United States, Britain and France agreed an outline deal to resolve what British Prime Minister Tony Blair described as a ”tragic crisis”.
A draft United Nations resolution hammered out in New York calls for a ”cessation of hostilities” between Israel and Hezbollah, following what senior British Foreign Office sources said was a climbdown by Washington, which had been holding out for a ”suspension” of fire. Under the latter wording, Israel could more easily have resumed bombing at any time it felt threatened.
Crucially, however, the resolution does not demand an immediate halt to violence, which will be seen as pacifying Israel in turn. And hopes of an early peace were dashed on Saturday night as Lebanon indicated unhappiness with the draft, while both sides in the conflict indicated they were not yet ready to stop.
Nonetheless it is hoped that if the new resolution — to be discussed with other members of the Security Council on Sunday — is formally voted through by ministers on Monday or Tuesday, international pressure will bring a swift halt to the bombing.
The British Foreign Secretary, Margaret Beckett, also told The Observer she is pushing Israel for the urgent creation of ”humanitarian corridors” in Lebanon to let food and medical supplies through to stricken civilians, with the offensive scaled down at least enough to give safe access to aid workers.
The new resolution states a ceasefire is dependent on ”in particular, the immediate cessation by Hezbollah of all attacks” — seen by some as a victory for Israel — but also on Tel Aviv halting all military offensives. It will be monitored by the current UN force in Lebanon, rather than waiting for an international stabilisation force to arrive and police it, as Israel and the US had originally insisted, and will prompt immediate work to begin on a detailed political settlement, including the demilitarisation of southern Lebanon.
‘Important first step’
On Saturday night, Blair welcomed the tabling of the resolution. He said: ”This is an important first step in bringing this tragic crisis to an end. The priority now is to get the resolution adopted as soon as possible and then to work for a permanent ceasefire and achieve the conditions in Lebanon and Israel which will prevent a recurrence.”
He added that he would work ”tirelessly to re-energise the broader Middle East peace process” by moving to create a ”Palestinian state alongside a secure Israel”. He has told confidants he won a personal pledge from United States President George Bush last week to revive the search for a negotiated deal over Palestine and that further unilateral withdrawals by Israel from the occupied territories would risk ”complicating” the situation.
However, the text met with some hostility in the Middle East. Asked whether Beirut accepted the text, Lebanese foreign ministry official Nouhad Mahmoud said ”no”; Mohammed Fneish, a Hezbollah member of the Lebanese Cabinet, said his group would only stop fighting if Israeli troops quit Lebanon. The Israeli government did not respond officially, but Tourism Minister Isaac Herzog told an Israeli TV channel that it would not stop yet, adding: ”We still have the coming days for many military missions, but we have to know that the timetable is increasingly short.”
Israel on Saturday warned residents in the port of Sidon to flee, suggesting it may maximise its impact in the time left. On Saturday, it attacked Hezbollah guerrillas near Tyre in a raid that Lebanon said killed four civilians and a soldier, while three people were reported dead in Galilee after a Hezbollah rocket attack.
Aid
With the push to get the resolution formally adopted under way, a key priority is aid for refugees and bombing victims. Blair and Beckett have raised concerns with the Israelis in recent days over the destruction of key routes used by aid convoys. ”We have to get humanitarian aid flowing,” Beckett said.
”You can get hooked up [on the resolution], but in the meantime there are people who need food and water and medical care who are not necessarily getting it. We have raised concerns with the Israelis over a number of days about the need to have what you might call humanitarian corridors. We have to try and get a situation where the aid agencies can feel a greater degree of confidence in their ability to move humanitarian supplies.”
Britain wanted ”a reduction in levels of violence, a greater practical possibility of bringing in humanitarian relief” even before a formal ceasefire, she said. Blair spoke on Saturday to Hilary Benn, the International Development Secretary, and to Oxfam about getting aid moving.
The US ambassador to the UN, John Bolton, said on Saturday that work would continue on Sunday to get the resolution adopted but that it had a deal with the main players, adding: ”We’re prepared to move as quickly as other members of the council want to.”
The resolution calls for a ceasefire allowing work to begin on a longer-term political settlement, to include a respect on both sides for the so-called ”blue line” borders; a demilitarisation of the south, between the border and the Litani River — an area about 32km deep into Lebanon — with the disarming of Hezbollah guerrillas there and the withdrawal of Israeli troops who had moved into villages just over the border; and the ”elimination of foreign forces” in Lebanon. An international force would police this settlement, its mandate to be determined by a second resolution next week.
The resolution also calls for the release of kidnapped Israeli soldiers and settlement of the issue of Lebanese prisoners detained in Israel — giving the secretary general a month to produce proposals on disarmament and formally delineating Lebanon’s disputed borders.
Both sides have gained and given ground to secure the deal, with Israel reserving the right to retaliate if Hezbollah rocket attacks continue and the US also giving way over the choreography of any ceasefire.
The text was all but agreed late on Friday night, but the US and France remained deadlocked on whether to demand a cessation or suspension of violence. Britain adopted what officials called a ”pragmatic” position of neutrality. But for once, Paris held a trump card — it is supplying troops for the stabilisation force, and made clear it was not willing to have its soldiers fight their way in without a full ceasefire.
”What it means is the Americans have backed down — cessation is the key word,” said a senior Whitehall source. — Guardian Unlimited Â