Global Policy Forum

By Brian Knowlton

As Hezbollah fighters and Israeli troops fought in southern Lebanon, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert of Israel cautiously welcomed a Lebanese offer Tuesday to deploy thousands of troops in the area, raising hopes for the passage of a United Nations Security Council draft resolution aimed at ending the month-old war.

Olmert called Lebanon's offer to deploy 15,000 soldiers to the south "an interesting step" worthy of study. But he also expressed serious reservations about the proposed strength and structure of the force. "It will not be a force of inspectors," he said, in an apparently dismissive allusion to the UN monitoring force in Lebanon, "but rather a force of combat units that can be effective."

France, which co-sponsored the draft resolution along with the United States, also reacted positively to the Lebanese offer. Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy called the move "an important contribution to the settlement of the present crisis."

The United States welcomed the Lebanese offer but said that the support of an international force would be needed to help prevent attacks on Israel. "Obviously, we're interested in taking a look at it," said the White House spokesman, Tony Snow, who was in Crawford, Texas, with the president. He added, however, that the Lebanese armed forces were going to need some help.

But Israel fears that Lebanese soldiers might be unable to contain Hezbollah without backing from a strong international force built, perhaps, around well-equipped European soldiers. It does not want to withdraw from Lebanon until it is confident that such a force is in place.

Lebanon and Arab governments have sharply criticized the draft resolution before the Security Council for allowing Israel to keep troops in Lebanon. An Arab League delegation made that case before Security Council members on Tuesday, and a French Foreign Ministry spokesman said, "We are working to have this first resolution mention a withdrawal of the Israeli Army and Hezbollah." No vote was expected before Thursday.

As negotiations continued in New York over the U.S.-French proposal, Israel maintained heavy pressure on Lebanon. Israeli airstrikes killed 14 villagers in the southern village of Ghaziyeh on Tuesday, even as mourners elsewhere in the village buried 15 people killed in a raid Monday, Reuters reported from Beirut. Four Israeli soldiers were killed fighting guerrillas. Israeli aircraft, meanwhile, dropped leaflets over southern Lebanon warning that they would fire on any vehicle that moved south of the Litani River, about 30 kilometers, or 20 miles, from the border.

This raised fears of a humanitarian crisis, particularly in the port city of Tyre, which lost its last ground link to the outside when an Israeli bomb destroyed a makeshift bridge, Agence France-Presse reported. Health officials said hospitals throughout the country had two to three days' supply of fuel.

A few humanitarian groups defied the travel warning, at their own risk. But most, including the UN World Food Program, chose not to. While seeking alternative ways to deliver aid, many complained that Israel was turning the south into what they called a "no-go zone." Merely issuing a warning, said Roland Huguenin of the International Committee of the Red Cross, "does not exonerate the Israeli Army from international law."

While Olmert urged the Western powers to accelerate talks on the proposed international peacekeeping force, he said that his security cabinet would decide Wednesday whether to send Israeli troops much deeper into southern Lebanon, up to the Litani River. Asaf Shariv, Olmert's chief spokesman, said that Israel was waiting for more than Lebanese promises about troop deployment.

"We should see actions, preparing something," he told The Associated Press. "Let's see what happens on the ground."

Still, some Western diplomats said that the Lebanese deployment decision could bolster diplomatic efforts and perhaps provide leverage for changes in the draft Security Council resolution. The fact that two Hezbollah members in the Lebanese government were part of the unanimous decision was seen to suggest that Hezbollah's principal sponsors, Iran and Syria, had become more open to a lasting resolution.

"It is a testament to the willingness of all Lebanese parties to allow Lebanon's government to exercise its sovereignty throughout its territory," said Douste- Blazy of France.

In Beirut, Foreign Minister Frank- Walter Steinmeier of Germany said, after talks with Lebanese officials, that he felt increasingly confident that the Security Council would pass a resolution this week, Agence France-Presse reported. He had said earlier that council members "now appear to have agreed" on the text of a draft resolution. Prime Minister Fouad Siniora of Lebanon said that he hoped the deployment would help persuade Israel to quit parts of southern Lebanon it had occupied since July 12, as well as the disputed Shebaa Farms, a southeastern area that Israel seized in 1967.

But Ambassador Emyr Jones Parry of Britain said Tuesday that any changes to the draft would have to "preserve its essential structure." At present, the draft calls for both sides to cease hostilities, but it would allow Israeli forces to remain in Lebanon, leaving it to a second resolution to provide for an international peacekeeping force to replace them. Asked whether the proposed Lebanese deployment could change the dynamics of the debate, Jones Parry told CNN: "I'm not sure that in itself is enough. Bear in mind the essential requirement for Israel, that there cannot be a vacuum in the south of Lebanon."

He said that no vote was likely before Thursday.

FAIR USE NOTICE: This page contains copyrighted material the use of which has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. Global Policy Forum distributes this material without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. We believe this constitutes a fair use of any such copyrighted material as provided for in 17 U.S.C íŸ 107. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond fair use, you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.