Wednesday, 16 August 2006, 04:56 GMT 05:56 UK
The UN is trying to get an advance force of peacekeepers into Lebanon in 10-15 days, a senior official has said.
The force would be up to 3,500-strong, to be boosted later to the full 15,000 agreed in the UN ceasefire resolution.
Lebanon says it will start moving its own 15,000-strong force towards the south this week, while Israel says it could pull out within 10 days.
The moves come as a two-day ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah continues to hold, despite sporadic violence.
Meanwhile, thousands of refugees have been returning to south Lebanon, despite Israeli warnings that it is not yet safe to do so.
Aid agencies are trying to deliver badly-needed food and medicine to the area, while the UN has warned returnees of a further danger from unexploded ordnance.
Fears of delay
The advance party of peacekeepers will join an existing UN force that was already in place when the crisis erupted in July but had no mandate to intervene.
Senior officials say the initial deployment will consist of soldiers, mostly from France, but that it is hoped troops from Islamic countries will join them later.
The plan is for the UN peacekeepers to take over as Israel starts pulling out from the south, and eventually to hand over to Lebanese forces.
But UN officials acknowledge there are as yet no firm pledges of troops from any countries, despite American calls for a rapid deployment.
BBC diplomatic correspondent Bridget Kendall, at the UN in New York, says there is clearly concern at the apparent reluctance by so many countries to sign up.
The fear is, if there is further delay, it could put pressure on an already fragile ceasefire and increase the risks of the whole operation, our correspondent says.
French Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy is expected to meet Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora in Lebanon on Wednesday to discuss conditions for the deployment of French troops.
Beirut moves
In Beirut, Lebanese Defence Minister Elias Murr said the army would be ready within days to start moving to the area of the Litani River in the south.
He said it was not the job of the Lebanese army to disarm Hezbollah fighters, but he was confident they would withdraw from southern areas as the troops moved in.
In a separate development, the Israeli Army said it had killed a senior Hezbollah commander moments before the ceasefire went into effect on Monday.
The dead man was named as Sajed Dawayer, but no details were given about how or where he died. There was no immediate comment from Lebanon.
Israel said it had shot dead three Hezbollah fighters on Tuesday, and injured two others as sporadic post-truce violence continued.
Hezbollah praised
Earlier, Israeli politicians dismissed claims by the leaders of Iran and Syria - long-term backers of Hezbollah - that the fighting in Lebanon had resulted in a victory for Hezbollah.
In Damascus, President Bashar al-Assad said Israel had been defeated and Hezbollah had "hoisted the banner of victory".
The defiant speech was a clear sign of how US opponents in the Middle East have been emboldened by the outcome of the conflict, says the BBC's Jon Leyne in Damascus.
In Iran, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Hezbollah had foiled plans to forge a Middle East dominated by "the US, Britain and Zionists".
"On one side, it's corrupt powers.... with modern bombs and planes. And on the other side is a group of pious youth relying on God," he said.
Israeli rejection
Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, rejecting the claims of a Hezbollah victory, said she would not be provoked by Syria or Iran.
She warned that if Israel was threatened it would take any action necessary to defend itself, just as it had done over the last few weeks.
Ms Livni will hold talks with the UN Secretary General Kofi Annan on Wednesday about how to implement the ceasefire in full.
Israeli Defence Minister Amir Peretz called for dialogue with Lebanon, and said Israel should also prepare conditions for talks with Syria.
CRISIS in the MIDDLE EAST
Moderators: Cell_Leader, ikaotiki, Julstar
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theone666
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UN drive to agree Lebanon force
Wednesday, 16 August 2006, 07:40 GMT 08:40 UK
Intense negotiations are under way to form the UN peacekeeping force planned to back up the ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah.
The UN hopes to get 3,500 troops on the ground in southern Lebanon within two weeks, mostly from France.
No countries have yet formally pledged troops, although several have said they will. UN officials say there is concern about the force's rules of engagement.
French Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy is in Beirut for talks.
He is expected to meet Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora to discuss conditions for the deployment of French troops.
The ceasefire between Hezbollah and Israel has entered its third day, and is continuing to hold, despite sporadic violence.
But a spokesman for UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan described it as "extremely precarious" and said the most urgent task was to get troops on the ground.
The Israeli Foreign Minister, Tzipi Livni, is in New York for talks with Mr Annan about how to implement the ceasefire in full.
The UN aim is to boost the limited existing force, Unifil, as soon as possible, enabling it to take over positions as Israel withdraws and a 15,000-strong contingent of Lebanese troops moves in.
The multinational force would later be boosted to the full 15,000 soldiers agreed in the UN ceasefire resolution passed on Friday.
Lebanon says it will start moving its own 15,000-strong force towards the south this week, while Israel says it could pull out within 10 days.
But although 45 countries have attended UN meetings to discuss planned deployments, none have yet made formal commitments to send troops - including France, which the UN says it hopes will provide the backbone for the force.
France, Italy, Turkey, Malaysia and Indonesia have indicated they will make significant contributions, and a dozen other countries have also expressed interest in helping.
Foreign ministers from Turkey and Malaysia were expected in Beirut for talks on the issue.
A senior UN official said all countries wanted clarification about the rules of engagement, the BBC's Bridget Kendall reports from the UN.
There is clearly concern at the apparent reluctance to pledge soldiers, our correspondent says.
Sporadic violence
In south Lebanon, aid agencies are trying to deliver badly-needed food and medicine, while the UN has warned returnees of danger from unexploded ordnance.
Tens of thousands of Lebanese have continued to return to their homes in southern Lebanon, although the Israelis say the area remains unsafe until Lebanese and UN troops are deployed.
In a separate development, the Israeli Army said it had killed a senior Hezbollah commander moments before the ceasefire went into effect on Monday.
The dead man was named as Sajed Dawayer, but no details were given about how or where he died. There was no immediate comment from Lebanon.
Israel said it had shot dead three Hezbollah fighters on Tuesday, and injured two others as sporadic post-truce violence continued.
Intense negotiations are under way to form the UN peacekeeping force planned to back up the ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah.
The UN hopes to get 3,500 troops on the ground in southern Lebanon within two weeks, mostly from France.
No countries have yet formally pledged troops, although several have said they will. UN officials say there is concern about the force's rules of engagement.
French Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy is in Beirut for talks.
He is expected to meet Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora to discuss conditions for the deployment of French troops.
The ceasefire between Hezbollah and Israel has entered its third day, and is continuing to hold, despite sporadic violence.
But a spokesman for UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan described it as "extremely precarious" and said the most urgent task was to get troops on the ground.
The Israeli Foreign Minister, Tzipi Livni, is in New York for talks with Mr Annan about how to implement the ceasefire in full.
The UN aim is to boost the limited existing force, Unifil, as soon as possible, enabling it to take over positions as Israel withdraws and a 15,000-strong contingent of Lebanese troops moves in.
The multinational force would later be boosted to the full 15,000 soldiers agreed in the UN ceasefire resolution passed on Friday.
Lebanon says it will start moving its own 15,000-strong force towards the south this week, while Israel says it could pull out within 10 days.
But although 45 countries have attended UN meetings to discuss planned deployments, none have yet made formal commitments to send troops - including France, which the UN says it hopes will provide the backbone for the force.
France, Italy, Turkey, Malaysia and Indonesia have indicated they will make significant contributions, and a dozen other countries have also expressed interest in helping.
Foreign ministers from Turkey and Malaysia were expected in Beirut for talks on the issue.
A senior UN official said all countries wanted clarification about the rules of engagement, the BBC's Bridget Kendall reports from the UN.
There is clearly concern at the apparent reluctance to pledge soldiers, our correspondent says.
Sporadic violence
In south Lebanon, aid agencies are trying to deliver badly-needed food and medicine, while the UN has warned returnees of danger from unexploded ordnance.
Tens of thousands of Lebanese have continued to return to their homes in southern Lebanon, although the Israelis say the area remains unsafe until Lebanese and UN troops are deployed.
In a separate development, the Israeli Army said it had killed a senior Hezbollah commander moments before the ceasefire went into effect on Monday.
The dead man was named as Sajed Dawayer, but no details were given about how or where he died. There was no immediate comment from Lebanon.
Israel said it had shot dead three Hezbollah fighters on Tuesday, and injured two others as sporadic post-truce violence continued.
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theone666
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Israeli army chief in shares row
Wednesday, 16 August 2006, 10:22 GMT 11:22 UK
Israel's army chief has denied any wrongdoing in selling his share portfolio hours after Hezbollah captured two Israeli troops.
Lt-Gen Dan Halutz said it was "impossible" to link the sale of shares worth 120,000 shekels ($27,500; £14,500) to the conflict that unfolded.
He said he lost $5,400 in the sale and his integrity had been "besmirched".
But some lawmakers have demanded he step down and that the prosecutor general open an investigation.
A report in Israel's Maariv newspaper said the head of the Israeli Defence Forces had gone to his bank branch hours after the capture of the soldiers on 12 July to sell the shares.
Key share indexes fell by about 10% in the initial stages of the war but have recovered to just short of pre-war levels.
Gen Halutz told the paper: "It's true that I sold these shares at noon on July 12, but you can't link the transaction to the war. At that moment I did not think that there would be a war."
He said the report was "malicious" and "biased".
"I do not know who is behind it and I do not plan to be dragged into a subject that besmirches my integrity," he said.
Analysts say it does not seem that the general broke insider trading laws.
However, some lawmakers called for him to resign.
Labor MP Colette Aviattal said: "This marks a serious problem of priorities during a time when state security was in the balance."
Zevulon Orlev of the National Religious Party added: "During critical hours for a nation, one expects the chief of staff to be totally involved in the running of the war and not in personal questions of winnings or losses on the stock market."
An Israeli Defence Forces statement said it was "absurd" to connect Gen Halutz's private affairs to the capture of the soldiers.
Israel's army chief has denied any wrongdoing in selling his share portfolio hours after Hezbollah captured two Israeli troops.
Lt-Gen Dan Halutz said it was "impossible" to link the sale of shares worth 120,000 shekels ($27,500; £14,500) to the conflict that unfolded.
He said he lost $5,400 in the sale and his integrity had been "besmirched".
But some lawmakers have demanded he step down and that the prosecutor general open an investigation.
A report in Israel's Maariv newspaper said the head of the Israeli Defence Forces had gone to his bank branch hours after the capture of the soldiers on 12 July to sell the shares.
Key share indexes fell by about 10% in the initial stages of the war but have recovered to just short of pre-war levels.
Gen Halutz told the paper: "It's true that I sold these shares at noon on July 12, but you can't link the transaction to the war. At that moment I did not think that there would be a war."
He said the report was "malicious" and "biased".
"I do not know who is behind it and I do not plan to be dragged into a subject that besmirches my integrity," he said.
Analysts say it does not seem that the general broke insider trading laws.
However, some lawmakers called for him to resign.
Labor MP Colette Aviattal said: "This marks a serious problem of priorities during a time when state security was in the balance."
Zevulon Orlev of the National Religious Party added: "During critical hours for a nation, one expects the chief of staff to be totally involved in the running of the war and not in personal questions of winnings or losses on the stock market."
An Israeli Defence Forces statement said it was "absurd" to connect Gen Halutz's private affairs to the capture of the soldiers.
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theone666
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U.N. May Have Troops in Lebanon in Days
By ZEINA KARAM, AP
BEIRUT, Lebanon (Aug. 16) -- France and Turkey sent their top diplomats to Beirut on Wednesday to discuss the deployment of a 15,000-strong international force to south Lebanon, amid doubt over whether Hezbollah would lay down its arms or even withdraw them from the border with Israel.
The diplomatic maneuvers came as the Israeli army withdrew more of its troops from southern Lebanon while Lebanese troops prepared to move across the Litani River on Thursday to take control of the war-ravaged region from Hezbollah guerrillas.
In a sign of lingering danger in south Lebanon, security officials said an explosive detonated Wednesday in the town of Nabatiyeh, killing a 20-year-old man. The victim, Ali Turkieh, stepped on the bomb outside his family home. A girl in the area was injured by explosives a day earlier.
The international force, which will be bolstered by 15,000 troops from Lebanon, will police the cease-fire between Israel and Hezbollah fighters that ended 34 days of fighting on Monday.
The U.N. hopes 3,500 international troops can reinforce a 2,000-strong U.N. contingent already on the ground within 10 to 15 days to help consolidate the cease-fire and create conditions for Israeli forces to head home, Assistant U.N. Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Hedi Annabi said.
Those plans, however, depend on the Lebanese government giving the order for its army to move south of the Litani. The Cabinet had been unable to meet on the issue since the cease-fire because of divisions over what should be done about Hezbollah's arms in the south. It scheduled a meeting for late Wednesday afternoon, the office of Prime Minister Fuad Saniora said.
Ali Hassan Khalil, a legislator who held talks with Saniora Wednesday on behalf of the Hezbollah, said "everyone was keen on having consensus."
The arrangement taking shape among Lebanese politicians, military officials and Hezbollah would call for guerrillas to not carry weapons or use their heavily fortified bunkers to fire rockets. There would be no requirement to move weapons north of the Litani, for the time being.
Israel's military chief said Wednesday that Israeli soldiers would remain in southern Lebanon for months, if necessary, until replaced by U.N. and Lebanese army soldiers, Israel Radio reported.
Lt. Gen. Dan Halutz spoke in response to an intelligence assessment that it could take months for the U.N.-Lebanese force to deploy, the radio station reported. On Tuesday, Halutz had predicted Israel would withdraw its forces from Lebanon within seven to 10 days.
French Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy and his Turkish counterpart, Abdullah Gul, arrived in Beirut for talks early Wednesday. A delegation of the 56-country Organization of the Islamic Conference also traveled to Beirut by land from Syria. It was led by Malaysia's foreign minister, Syed Hamid Albar, and Pakistan's top diplomat, Khursheed Kasuri.
France was expected to lead the international force. The Italian foreign minister has already visited Beirut and pledged as many as 3,000 troops. Indonesia and a dozen other countries have expressed a willingness to help.
However, it remained unclear how quickly a full force could be deployed. The process involves three armies on the ground and is complicated, given that the Lebanese and Israeli armies do not have direct contact and a third and central player -- Hezbollah guerrillas -- will not be involved.
In the meantime, the 2,000-strong U.N. peacekeeping force known as UNIFIL that has been in southern Lebanon for more than two decades was to temporarily take up positions along the border.
The zone along the frontier would then be handed to Lebanese troops and the greatly reinforced UNIFIL force once all Israeli soldiers have withdrawn, U.N. officials said on condition of anonymity because of the delicate nature of the operations.
"It will be a gradual withdrawal. ... It will take couple of days, even up to one week," a UNIFIL officer told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to reporters. "We agreed with the Lebanese army that it will start deploying as the Israelis start withdrawing. It could be as early as Thursday, maybe a slight delay."
Displaced Lebanese, meanwhile, jammed the main coastal road to the south Wednesday as they headed home to scenes of near total destruction. Many cars had mattresses strapped on their roofs, and some passengers waved Hezbollah flags and pictures of the group's leader, Sheik Hassan Nasrallah. Some young men handed out bumper stickers with Hezbollah propaganda.
At least 15 bodies more bodies were found Tuesday in two villages near the border, Ainata and Taibeh. Lebanese authorities and Hezbollah sent teams across south Lebanon to clear explosives from the battlefield.
At least 810 people were killed in Lebanon during the 34-day campaign, most of them civilians. Israel suffered 157 dead -- including 118 soldiers.
Israel said it would continue its blockade of Lebanese ports but was no longer threatening to shoot any car that moved on roads south of the Litani. Nonetheless, warplanes dropped leaflets north of the Litani warning displace Lebanese not to head further south, saying the situation "will remain dangerous" before international forces deploy.
Relief agencies struggled to move supplies to the south over bombed roads and others clogged with traffic. U.N. officials said Tuesday that 24 U.N. trucks took more than five hours to reach the port of Tyre from Sidon, a trip that normally takes 45 minutes.
Life in northern Israel began returning to normal, as soldiers left Lebanon and headed south, crossing paths with civilians traveling in the opposite direction, back to the homes they abandoned weeks ago under Hezbollah rocket fire. At one main junction, teenage girls handed out flowers to the returning soldiers.
08-16-06 07:31 EDT
BEIRUT, Lebanon (Aug. 16) -- France and Turkey sent their top diplomats to Beirut on Wednesday to discuss the deployment of a 15,000-strong international force to south Lebanon, amid doubt over whether Hezbollah would lay down its arms or even withdraw them from the border with Israel.
The diplomatic maneuvers came as the Israeli army withdrew more of its troops from southern Lebanon while Lebanese troops prepared to move across the Litani River on Thursday to take control of the war-ravaged region from Hezbollah guerrillas.
In a sign of lingering danger in south Lebanon, security officials said an explosive detonated Wednesday in the town of Nabatiyeh, killing a 20-year-old man. The victim, Ali Turkieh, stepped on the bomb outside his family home. A girl in the area was injured by explosives a day earlier.
The international force, which will be bolstered by 15,000 troops from Lebanon, will police the cease-fire between Israel and Hezbollah fighters that ended 34 days of fighting on Monday.
The U.N. hopes 3,500 international troops can reinforce a 2,000-strong U.N. contingent already on the ground within 10 to 15 days to help consolidate the cease-fire and create conditions for Israeli forces to head home, Assistant U.N. Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Hedi Annabi said.
Those plans, however, depend on the Lebanese government giving the order for its army to move south of the Litani. The Cabinet had been unable to meet on the issue since the cease-fire because of divisions over what should be done about Hezbollah's arms in the south. It scheduled a meeting for late Wednesday afternoon, the office of Prime Minister Fuad Saniora said.
Ali Hassan Khalil, a legislator who held talks with Saniora Wednesday on behalf of the Hezbollah, said "everyone was keen on having consensus."
The arrangement taking shape among Lebanese politicians, military officials and Hezbollah would call for guerrillas to not carry weapons or use their heavily fortified bunkers to fire rockets. There would be no requirement to move weapons north of the Litani, for the time being.
Israel's military chief said Wednesday that Israeli soldiers would remain in southern Lebanon for months, if necessary, until replaced by U.N. and Lebanese army soldiers, Israel Radio reported.
Lt. Gen. Dan Halutz spoke in response to an intelligence assessment that it could take months for the U.N.-Lebanese force to deploy, the radio station reported. On Tuesday, Halutz had predicted Israel would withdraw its forces from Lebanon within seven to 10 days.
French Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy and his Turkish counterpart, Abdullah Gul, arrived in Beirut for talks early Wednesday. A delegation of the 56-country Organization of the Islamic Conference also traveled to Beirut by land from Syria. It was led by Malaysia's foreign minister, Syed Hamid Albar, and Pakistan's top diplomat, Khursheed Kasuri.
France was expected to lead the international force. The Italian foreign minister has already visited Beirut and pledged as many as 3,000 troops. Indonesia and a dozen other countries have expressed a willingness to help.
However, it remained unclear how quickly a full force could be deployed. The process involves three armies on the ground and is complicated, given that the Lebanese and Israeli armies do not have direct contact and a third and central player -- Hezbollah guerrillas -- will not be involved.
In the meantime, the 2,000-strong U.N. peacekeeping force known as UNIFIL that has been in southern Lebanon for more than two decades was to temporarily take up positions along the border.
The zone along the frontier would then be handed to Lebanese troops and the greatly reinforced UNIFIL force once all Israeli soldiers have withdrawn, U.N. officials said on condition of anonymity because of the delicate nature of the operations.
"It will be a gradual withdrawal. ... It will take couple of days, even up to one week," a UNIFIL officer told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to reporters. "We agreed with the Lebanese army that it will start deploying as the Israelis start withdrawing. It could be as early as Thursday, maybe a slight delay."
Displaced Lebanese, meanwhile, jammed the main coastal road to the south Wednesday as they headed home to scenes of near total destruction. Many cars had mattresses strapped on their roofs, and some passengers waved Hezbollah flags and pictures of the group's leader, Sheik Hassan Nasrallah. Some young men handed out bumper stickers with Hezbollah propaganda.
At least 15 bodies more bodies were found Tuesday in two villages near the border, Ainata and Taibeh. Lebanese authorities and Hezbollah sent teams across south Lebanon to clear explosives from the battlefield.
At least 810 people were killed in Lebanon during the 34-day campaign, most of them civilians. Israel suffered 157 dead -- including 118 soldiers.
Israel said it would continue its blockade of Lebanese ports but was no longer threatening to shoot any car that moved on roads south of the Litani. Nonetheless, warplanes dropped leaflets north of the Litani warning displace Lebanese not to head further south, saying the situation "will remain dangerous" before international forces deploy.
Relief agencies struggled to move supplies to the south over bombed roads and others clogged with traffic. U.N. officials said Tuesday that 24 U.N. trucks took more than five hours to reach the port of Tyre from Sidon, a trip that normally takes 45 minutes.
Life in northern Israel began returning to normal, as soldiers left Lebanon and headed south, crossing paths with civilians traveling in the opposite direction, back to the homes they abandoned weeks ago under Hezbollah rocket fire. At one main junction, teenage girls handed out flowers to the returning soldiers.
08-16-06 07:31 EDT
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theone666
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Crisis talks on Lebanon oil spill
Wednesday, 16 August 2006, 15:22 GMT 16:22 UK
An action plan to tackle the massive oil spill off Lebanon's coastline caused by the conflict is due to be discussed in Greece on Thursday.
Officials from the UN, the EU and the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) are meeting to agree a way to halt the spread in the Mediterranean.
Oil spilled into the sea following Israel's bombing of a power station.
The slick now covers 170km (105 miles) of Lebanon's coastline and is spreading out to sea.
Environmentalists and health officials have warned that the spill poses a direct threat to marine life and could increase the risk of cancer among people living in the affected areas.
It could take up to 10 years for the affected coastline to recover, they say.
Volunteers
The UN Environment Programme (Unep) and the IMO are jointly hosting Thursday's meeting in the Greek port town of Piraeus.
The objective is "to co-ordinate a common strategy to confront the pollution and to devise actions to prevent the possible expansion of the oil spill," they said in a statement.
Once agreed, the plan will be swiftly put into action, Luisa Colasimone of Unep's Mediterranean Action Plan said.
"A team of volunteers led by experts will clean up the coastline bit by bit. We now have the problem of it spreading out to sea, which will require technical expertise," she said.
Opec's humanitarian arm said on Wednesday it was providing $200,000 to help towards the clean-up effort.
Up to 15,000 tonnes of oil spilled into the sea after Israeli planes bombed the Jiyyeh power plant in mid-July.
An action plan to tackle the massive oil spill off Lebanon's coastline caused by the conflict is due to be discussed in Greece on Thursday.
Officials from the UN, the EU and the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) are meeting to agree a way to halt the spread in the Mediterranean.
Oil spilled into the sea following Israel's bombing of a power station.
The slick now covers 170km (105 miles) of Lebanon's coastline and is spreading out to sea.
Environmentalists and health officials have warned that the spill poses a direct threat to marine life and could increase the risk of cancer among people living in the affected areas.
It could take up to 10 years for the affected coastline to recover, they say.
Volunteers
The UN Environment Programme (Unep) and the IMO are jointly hosting Thursday's meeting in the Greek port town of Piraeus.
The objective is "to co-ordinate a common strategy to confront the pollution and to devise actions to prevent the possible expansion of the oil spill," they said in a statement.
Once agreed, the plan will be swiftly put into action, Luisa Colasimone of Unep's Mediterranean Action Plan said.
"A team of volunteers led by experts will clean up the coastline bit by bit. We now have the problem of it spreading out to sea, which will require technical expertise," she said.
Opec's humanitarian arm said on Wednesday it was providing $200,000 to help towards the clean-up effort.
Up to 15,000 tonnes of oil spilled into the sea after Israeli planes bombed the Jiyyeh power plant in mid-July.
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theone666
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In pictures: Lebanese return home
Tuesday, 15 August 2006, 14:47 GMT 15:47 UK
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/in_pictures/4795109.stm
Tuesday, 15 August 2006, 14:47 GMT 15:47 UK
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/in_pictures/4795109.stm
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theone666
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Concerns for returning Lebanese
Wednesday, 16 August 2006, 14:17 GMT 15:17 UK
Tens of thousands of Lebanese people have been struggling to return to their homes in southern Lebanon despite concerns for their safety.
The United Nations has warned returnees of the danger from unexploded munitions.
Israel says the area remains unsafe until the Lebanese army and the UN forces are deployed there.
Bombed roads and bridges are making it difficult for aid agencies to deliver badly needed supplies.
An estimated half-a-million people are on the move, crossing rivers on foot or using back roads to avoid roads and bridges cut by the bombing.
Utter devastation
The BBC's Jim Muir, in Tyre, says that the main coast road has been clogged with a constant stream of vehicles.
He says many of them are decorated with the yellow flag of Hezbollah or posters of its leader, Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah, and the atmosphere is jubilant.
But many of the refugees are returning to scenes of utter devastation, with homes and shops destroyed or badly damaged by the fighting.
Bodies are still being found under the rubble.
Among the debris is a deadly leftover of the combat: unexploded ordnance.
The UN has warned of the danger, particularly to children who might play with shells, bombs or mines that failed to go off in combat.
Already there are reports that at least one person has been killed and several injured.
France has added its voice to the calls for Israel to lift its naval blockade of Lebanon, to help move aid supplies and resume normal economic activity.
Relief agencies have been struggling to move supplies of food and medicine past bombed-out bridges and roads clogged with traffic.
One convoy of UN trucks took more than five hours to reach Tyre from Sidon, a trip that would normally take about 45 minutes.
European Union diplomats have been meeting in Brussels to discuss coordinating humanitarian assistance, but Hezbollah has already begun to register Lebanese whose homes were destroyed or damaged in the fighting.
The group's leader, Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah has said the movement would put the same energy, planning and dedication into the reconstruction effort as it had into fighting the Israelis.
Tens of thousands of Lebanese people have been struggling to return to their homes in southern Lebanon despite concerns for their safety.
The United Nations has warned returnees of the danger from unexploded munitions.
Israel says the area remains unsafe until the Lebanese army and the UN forces are deployed there.
Bombed roads and bridges are making it difficult for aid agencies to deliver badly needed supplies.
An estimated half-a-million people are on the move, crossing rivers on foot or using back roads to avoid roads and bridges cut by the bombing.
Utter devastation
The BBC's Jim Muir, in Tyre, says that the main coast road has been clogged with a constant stream of vehicles.
He says many of them are decorated with the yellow flag of Hezbollah or posters of its leader, Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah, and the atmosphere is jubilant.
But many of the refugees are returning to scenes of utter devastation, with homes and shops destroyed or badly damaged by the fighting.
Bodies are still being found under the rubble.
Among the debris is a deadly leftover of the combat: unexploded ordnance.
The UN has warned of the danger, particularly to children who might play with shells, bombs or mines that failed to go off in combat.
Already there are reports that at least one person has been killed and several injured.
France has added its voice to the calls for Israel to lift its naval blockade of Lebanon, to help move aid supplies and resume normal economic activity.
Relief agencies have been struggling to move supplies of food and medicine past bombed-out bridges and roads clogged with traffic.
One convoy of UN trucks took more than five hours to reach Tyre from Sidon, a trip that would normally take about 45 minutes.
European Union diplomats have been meeting in Brussels to discuss coordinating humanitarian assistance, but Hezbollah has already begun to register Lebanese whose homes were destroyed or damaged in the fighting.
The group's leader, Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah has said the movement would put the same energy, planning and dedication into the reconstruction effort as it had into fighting the Israelis.
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theone666
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Lebanon approves army deployment
Wednesday, 16 August 2006, 18:24 GMT 19:24 UK
Lebanon's army will start moving south of the strategically key Litani River on Thursday, the cabinet has decided.
The decision to start deploying the 15,000-strong force directly into the Israel-Hezbollah conflict zone comes three days into a fragile ceasefire.
Intense negotiations are meanwhile continuing in Beirut and at the UN in New York to build a UN force to work alongside the Lebanese soldiers.
The UN hopes to get 3,500 troops on the ground within two weeks.
No countries have yet formally pledged troops, although several have said they will, and a statement from Paris is expected later on Wednesday.
The Lebanese deployment south of the Litani River looks set to end two decades in which Hezbollah was in effect virtually unchallenged in the region.
Israel's military objectives during its month-long conflict included pushing Hezbollah fighters out of a 30km (18-mile) wide "buffer zone" between the Israeli border and the Litani.
The UN ceasefire resolution which ended the conflict calls for the area south of the Litani to be free of any "armed personnel, assets and weapons", except for the Lebanese and UN troops.
In New York, Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni accused Hezbollah of being in breach of the resolution, by failing to free two Israeli soldiers whose capture sparked the crisis.
She met UN Secretary General Kofi Annan to discuss implementing the resolution in full.
A spokesman for Mr Annan described the situation as "extremely precarious" and said the most urgent task was to get troops on the ground.
In Beirut, French Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy was meeting Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora to discuss deploying French troops.
Foreign ministers from Turkey, Malaysia and Pakistan - other possible troop contributors - were also expected in the city.
BBC defence and security correspondent Rob Watson says there is something of a chicken and egg problem - France is hesitant to make specific troop commitments until it knows what other countries are prepared to do, but those countries are waiting to hear what Paris will decide.
About 45 countries have attended UN meetings to discuss planned deployments.
The UN aim is to boost the limited existing force, Unifil, as soon as possible, enabling it to take over positions as Israel withdraws and the Lebanese troops move in.
The multinational force would then later be brought up to its full contingent, also of 15,000 soldiers, that was agreed in the UN ceasefire resolution passed on Friday.
Israel says it could complete its pull-out within 10 days, although army chief Lt-Gen Dan Halutz said the troops would stay until the multinational force arrived, "even if it takes months", Israel radio reported.
Heading back
In southern Lebanon, aid agencies are trying to deliver badly needed food and medicine, while the UN has warned returnees of the danger from unexploded ordnance.
The UN says around 250,000 people have already returned, and aid officials estimate that another 500,000 are on the move.
The BBC's Kim Ghattas in the southern town of Tyre says in some villages many homes have been destroyed and there is no electricity or running water.
Some returnee families are heading back to Beirut after finding they have nothing to go back to, our correspondent reports.
Lebanon's army will start moving south of the strategically key Litani River on Thursday, the cabinet has decided.
The decision to start deploying the 15,000-strong force directly into the Israel-Hezbollah conflict zone comes three days into a fragile ceasefire.
Intense negotiations are meanwhile continuing in Beirut and at the UN in New York to build a UN force to work alongside the Lebanese soldiers.
The UN hopes to get 3,500 troops on the ground within two weeks.
No countries have yet formally pledged troops, although several have said they will, and a statement from Paris is expected later on Wednesday.
The Lebanese deployment south of the Litani River looks set to end two decades in which Hezbollah was in effect virtually unchallenged in the region.
Israel's military objectives during its month-long conflict included pushing Hezbollah fighters out of a 30km (18-mile) wide "buffer zone" between the Israeli border and the Litani.
The UN ceasefire resolution which ended the conflict calls for the area south of the Litani to be free of any "armed personnel, assets and weapons", except for the Lebanese and UN troops.
In New York, Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni accused Hezbollah of being in breach of the resolution, by failing to free two Israeli soldiers whose capture sparked the crisis.
She met UN Secretary General Kofi Annan to discuss implementing the resolution in full.
A spokesman for Mr Annan described the situation as "extremely precarious" and said the most urgent task was to get troops on the ground.
In Beirut, French Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy was meeting Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora to discuss deploying French troops.
Foreign ministers from Turkey, Malaysia and Pakistan - other possible troop contributors - were also expected in the city.
BBC defence and security correspondent Rob Watson says there is something of a chicken and egg problem - France is hesitant to make specific troop commitments until it knows what other countries are prepared to do, but those countries are waiting to hear what Paris will decide.
About 45 countries have attended UN meetings to discuss planned deployments.
The UN aim is to boost the limited existing force, Unifil, as soon as possible, enabling it to take over positions as Israel withdraws and the Lebanese troops move in.
The multinational force would then later be brought up to its full contingent, also of 15,000 soldiers, that was agreed in the UN ceasefire resolution passed on Friday.
Israel says it could complete its pull-out within 10 days, although army chief Lt-Gen Dan Halutz said the troops would stay until the multinational force arrived, "even if it takes months", Israel radio reported.
Heading back
In southern Lebanon, aid agencies are trying to deliver badly needed food and medicine, while the UN has warned returnees of the danger from unexploded ordnance.
The UN says around 250,000 people have already returned, and aid officials estimate that another 500,000 are on the move.
The BBC's Kim Ghattas in the southern town of Tyre says in some villages many homes have been destroyed and there is no electricity or running water.
Some returnee families are heading back to Beirut after finding they have nothing to go back to, our correspondent reports.
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theone666
- Major [O-4]
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- Joined: Mon Nov 21, 2005 5:00 am
France to head new Lebanon force
Wednesday, 16 August 2006, 19:20 GMT 20:20 UK
France has agreed to head an expanded UN peacekeeping force in Lebanon until February, the defence minister says.
But the force must have a clear mandate and sufficient strength, Michele Alliot-Marie told French television.
Intense negotiations have been going on at the UN and in Beirut to build an advance force of up to 3,500 soldiers, to be deployed within two weeks.
Earlier the Lebanese cabinet agreed to start moving its own 15,000-strong force south of the Litani River.
The UN aim is to boost its limited existing force, Unifil, as soon as possible, enabling it to take over positions as Israel withdraws and the Lebanese troops move in.
The multinational force would then later be brought up to its full strength - 15,000 soldiers - agreed in the UN ceasefire resolution passed on Friday.
But in agreeing to head the expanded force, Ms Alliot-Marie said it was vital to clearly define the mission of the expanded force.
"When you send in a force and its mission is not precise enough, and its resources are not well adapted or large enough, that can turn into a catastrophe, including for the soldIers that we send," she told France-2 television channel.
The Lebanese deployment, meanwhile, looks set to end two decades in which Hezbollah was in effect virtually unchallenged in the area.
Israel's military objectives during its month-long conflict included pushing Hezbollah out of a 30km (18-mile) wide "buffer zone" between the Israeli border and the Litani.
The UN ceasefire resolution which ended the conflict on Monday calls for the area south of the Litani to be free of any "armed personnel, assets and weapons", except for the Lebanese and UN troops.
The question of how and when Hezbollah will be disarmed or moved north - and by whom - has not been resolved.
'Resolution breached'
In New York, Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni accused Hezbollah of being in breach of the resolution, by failing to free two Israeli soldiers whose capture sparked the crisis.
She met UN Secretary General Kofi Annan to discuss implementing the resolution in full.
A spokesman for Mr Annan described the situation as "extremely precarious" and said the most urgent task was to get troops on the ground.
In southern Lebanon, aid agencies are trying to deliver badly needed food and medicine, while the UN has warned returnees of the danger from unexploded ordnance.
The UN says aBOUT 250,000 people have already returned, and aid officials estimate that another 500,000 are on the move.
The BBC's Kim Ghattas in the southern town of Tyre says in some villages many homes have been destroyed and there is no electricity or running water.
Some returnee families are heading back to Beirut after finding they have nothing to go back to, our correspondent reports.
France has agreed to head an expanded UN peacekeeping force in Lebanon until February, the defence minister says.
But the force must have a clear mandate and sufficient strength, Michele Alliot-Marie told French television.
Intense negotiations have been going on at the UN and in Beirut to build an advance force of up to 3,500 soldiers, to be deployed within two weeks.
Earlier the Lebanese cabinet agreed to start moving its own 15,000-strong force south of the Litani River.
The UN aim is to boost its limited existing force, Unifil, as soon as possible, enabling it to take over positions as Israel withdraws and the Lebanese troops move in.
The multinational force would then later be brought up to its full strength - 15,000 soldiers - agreed in the UN ceasefire resolution passed on Friday.
But in agreeing to head the expanded force, Ms Alliot-Marie said it was vital to clearly define the mission of the expanded force.
"When you send in a force and its mission is not precise enough, and its resources are not well adapted or large enough, that can turn into a catastrophe, including for the soldIers that we send," she told France-2 television channel.
The Lebanese deployment, meanwhile, looks set to end two decades in which Hezbollah was in effect virtually unchallenged in the area.
Israel's military objectives during its month-long conflict included pushing Hezbollah out of a 30km (18-mile) wide "buffer zone" between the Israeli border and the Litani.
The UN ceasefire resolution which ended the conflict on Monday calls for the area south of the Litani to be free of any "armed personnel, assets and weapons", except for the Lebanese and UN troops.
The question of how and when Hezbollah will be disarmed or moved north - and by whom - has not been resolved.
'Resolution breached'
In New York, Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni accused Hezbollah of being in breach of the resolution, by failing to free two Israeli soldiers whose capture sparked the crisis.
She met UN Secretary General Kofi Annan to discuss implementing the resolution in full.
A spokesman for Mr Annan described the situation as "extremely precarious" and said the most urgent task was to get troops on the ground.
In southern Lebanon, aid agencies are trying to deliver badly needed food and medicine, while the UN has warned returnees of the danger from unexploded ordnance.
The UN says aBOUT 250,000 people have already returned, and aid officials estimate that another 500,000 are on the move.
The BBC's Kim Ghattas in the southern town of Tyre says in some villages many homes have been destroyed and there is no electricity or running water.
Some returnee families are heading back to Beirut after finding they have nothing to go back to, our correspondent reports.
-
theone666
- Major [O-4]
- Posts: 1434
- Joined: Mon Nov 21, 2005 5:00 am
Lebanese Cabinet Agrees to Send Troops
By ZEINA KARAM, AP
BEIRUT, Lebanon (Aug. 16) - The Lebanese Cabinet agreed Wednesday to deploy the Lebanese army south of the Litani River starting the next day, a key demand of the cease-fire that halted 34 days of fighting between Israel and Hezbollah. But it left unclear the issue of disarming the Islamic militant group.
The decision to start deploying the army on Thursday came as top foreign diplomats planned the dispatch of a 15,000-strong international force that eventually is to join the Lebanese troops in patrolling the region between the Israeli border and the river, 18 miles to the north.
French Defense Minister Michele Alliot-Marie said France is willing to lead the enlarged U.N. force in Lebanon until at least February. But he expressed concern that the force's mandate was "fuzzy" and said the peacekeepers need to have sufficient resources and a clear mission.
The divided Lebanese Cabinet, which includes two Hezbollah ministers, held its first meeting since the cease-fire went into effect on Monday. The 15,000 Lebanese troops and the U.N. peacekeepers will slowly take over territory from withdrawing Israeli forces. Israel had threatened to halt its withdrawal if the Lebanese force did not move south.
The government ordered the army, which has been assembling north of the river, to "insure respect" for the Blue Line, the U.N.-demarcated border between Lebanon and Israel, and "apply the existing laws with regard to any weapons outside the authority of the Lebanese state."
That provision does not require Hezbollah to give up its arms, but rather directs them to keep them off the streets. "There will be no authority or weapons other than those of the state," said Information Minister Ghazi Aridi said.
Hezbollah's top official in south Lebanon said the group welcomed the Lebanese army's deployment even as he hinted that the Shiite guerrillas would not disarm in the region or withdraw but rather melt into the local population and hide their weapons.
"Just like in the past, Hezbollah had no visible military presence and there will not be any visible presence now," Sheik Nabil Kaouk told reporters Wednesday in the southern port city of Tyre.
It will mark the first time Lebanon's national army moved in force to a region that was held by Palestinian guerrillas in the 1970s and by Hezbollah since Israel's troop withdrawal from the area in 2000.
Hezbollah, meanwhile, said it would help tens of thousands of people reconstruct homes that were destroyed in a month of war with Israel, a move likely to boost its standing among Shiite Muslims, who make up about 35 percent of Lebanon's 4 million people.
The mayor of a southern town said 32 more bodies were pulled from rubble, as rescue workers drove into areas that were previously inaccessible because of the heavy fighting.
Foreign diplomats worked to assemble the international force that will augment the current 2,000-strong U.N. peacekeeping force known as UNIFIL, which has been in the area for more than two decades.
Visiting Beirut on Wednesday, French Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy said France would commit troops to the United Nations peacekeeping force that will deploy in south Lebanon, but did not say how many soldiers. U.N. diplomats and officials say France's reticence to give a number has held up announcements of troop commitments from other countries.
Douste-Blazy also urged Israel to lift its blockade of Lebanon, saying it was unnecessary because the U.N.-imposed cease-fire was holding.
"The blockade imposed on the airport and Lebanese ports should be lifted. We ask Israeli authorities to lift the land and sea siege on Lebanon. And we ask the Lebanese government to strengthen monitoring" of points of entry to insure Hezbollah weapons are banned, Douste-Blazy said.
The blockade was instituted shortly after fighting began July 12, when Hezbollah staged a cross-border raid and captured two Israeli soldiers. Israel bombed the Beirut international airport, blocked seaports and began destroying road links to Syria.
Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Mark Regev said the blockade is still necessary until the peacekeeping force is in place to prevent the Islamic militant group from rearming.
"Israel cannot allow a situation in which Hezbollah could be strategically rearmed," he said, adding that "Israel will do everything we can to facilitate the flow of humanitarian aid to the people of Lebanon" in the interim.
The U.N. hopes 3,500 international troops can reinforce U.N. contingent already on the ground within 10 to 15 days to help consolidate the cease-fire and create conditions for Israeli forces to head home, Assistant U.N. Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Hedi Annabi said.
The U.N. resolution passed Friday authorized the peacekeepers to use force "to ensure the movement of aid workers and protect civilians in imminent danger, among other situations." But France has been demanding a more specific mandate, including when it may use firepower.
"When you send in a force and its mission is not precise enough, and its resources are not well adapted or large enough, that can turn into a catastrophe, including for the solders that we send," Alliot-Marie said.
Israel has begun drawing down troops in the area, which numbered as high as 30,000 during the conflict, but a military chief said Wednesday that Israeli soldiers would remain in southern Lebanon for months, if necessary, until replaced by U.N. and Lebanese army soldiers, Israel Radio reported.
Lt. Gen. Dan Halutz spoke in response to an intelligence assessment that it could take months for the U.N.-Lebanese force to deploy, the radio station reported. On Tuesday, Halutz had predicted Israel would withdraw its forces from Lebanon within seven to 10 days.
In a sign of lingering danger in south Lebanon, security officials said an explosive detonated Wednesday in the town of Nabatiyeh, killing a 20-year-old man. The victim, Ali Turkieh, stepped on the bomb outside his family home. A girl in the area was injured by explosives a day earlier.
Aid officials said unexploded bombs littering southern Lebanon were forcing relief workers to move gingerly to deliver food and fuel to people cut off by weeks of fighting and to evacuate war wounded to hospitals. Lebanese authorities and Hezbollah sent teams across south Lebanon to clear explosives from the battlefield.
At a makeshift registration center set up in a Beirut high school, Hezbollah officials with pens and notebooks wrote down contact details of hundreds of people who need money to rebuild. The group's leader, Sheik Hassan Nasrallah, has promised money for civilians to pay rent and buy furniture.
A Hezbollah official said all destroyed buildings will be reconstructed exactly as they were. The source of the funding was unclear, though Hezbollah receives money from Iran.
"We will use the same maps," he said. "We will give their flats back but they will be new flats."
Lebanese refugees returning home have clogged the road from Beirut to the southern port of Tyre, but farther south near the Israeli border the scene is more desolate, said Annick Bouvier, spokeswoman in Geneva for the International Committee of the Red Cross.
"There is a lot of unexploded ordnance and in the very remote areas of southern Lebanon," Bouvier told The Associated Press. "There is not much traffic because it is a highly dangerous area to move due to unexploded ordnance."
At least 842 people were killed in Lebanon during the 34-day campaign, most of them civilians. Israel suffered 157 dead - including 118 soldiers.
AP-ES-08-16-06 1536EDT
BEIRUT, Lebanon (Aug. 16) - The Lebanese Cabinet agreed Wednesday to deploy the Lebanese army south of the Litani River starting the next day, a key demand of the cease-fire that halted 34 days of fighting between Israel and Hezbollah. But it left unclear the issue of disarming the Islamic militant group.
The decision to start deploying the army on Thursday came as top foreign diplomats planned the dispatch of a 15,000-strong international force that eventually is to join the Lebanese troops in patrolling the region between the Israeli border and the river, 18 miles to the north.
French Defense Minister Michele Alliot-Marie said France is willing to lead the enlarged U.N. force in Lebanon until at least February. But he expressed concern that the force's mandate was "fuzzy" and said the peacekeepers need to have sufficient resources and a clear mission.
The divided Lebanese Cabinet, which includes two Hezbollah ministers, held its first meeting since the cease-fire went into effect on Monday. The 15,000 Lebanese troops and the U.N. peacekeepers will slowly take over territory from withdrawing Israeli forces. Israel had threatened to halt its withdrawal if the Lebanese force did not move south.
The government ordered the army, which has been assembling north of the river, to "insure respect" for the Blue Line, the U.N.-demarcated border between Lebanon and Israel, and "apply the existing laws with regard to any weapons outside the authority of the Lebanese state."
That provision does not require Hezbollah to give up its arms, but rather directs them to keep them off the streets. "There will be no authority or weapons other than those of the state," said Information Minister Ghazi Aridi said.
Hezbollah's top official in south Lebanon said the group welcomed the Lebanese army's deployment even as he hinted that the Shiite guerrillas would not disarm in the region or withdraw but rather melt into the local population and hide their weapons.
"Just like in the past, Hezbollah had no visible military presence and there will not be any visible presence now," Sheik Nabil Kaouk told reporters Wednesday in the southern port city of Tyre.
It will mark the first time Lebanon's national army moved in force to a region that was held by Palestinian guerrillas in the 1970s and by Hezbollah since Israel's troop withdrawal from the area in 2000.
Hezbollah, meanwhile, said it would help tens of thousands of people reconstruct homes that were destroyed in a month of war with Israel, a move likely to boost its standing among Shiite Muslims, who make up about 35 percent of Lebanon's 4 million people.
The mayor of a southern town said 32 more bodies were pulled from rubble, as rescue workers drove into areas that were previously inaccessible because of the heavy fighting.
Foreign diplomats worked to assemble the international force that will augment the current 2,000-strong U.N. peacekeeping force known as UNIFIL, which has been in the area for more than two decades.
Visiting Beirut on Wednesday, French Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy said France would commit troops to the United Nations peacekeeping force that will deploy in south Lebanon, but did not say how many soldiers. U.N. diplomats and officials say France's reticence to give a number has held up announcements of troop commitments from other countries.
Douste-Blazy also urged Israel to lift its blockade of Lebanon, saying it was unnecessary because the U.N.-imposed cease-fire was holding.
"The blockade imposed on the airport and Lebanese ports should be lifted. We ask Israeli authorities to lift the land and sea siege on Lebanon. And we ask the Lebanese government to strengthen monitoring" of points of entry to insure Hezbollah weapons are banned, Douste-Blazy said.
The blockade was instituted shortly after fighting began July 12, when Hezbollah staged a cross-border raid and captured two Israeli soldiers. Israel bombed the Beirut international airport, blocked seaports and began destroying road links to Syria.
Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Mark Regev said the blockade is still necessary until the peacekeeping force is in place to prevent the Islamic militant group from rearming.
"Israel cannot allow a situation in which Hezbollah could be strategically rearmed," he said, adding that "Israel will do everything we can to facilitate the flow of humanitarian aid to the people of Lebanon" in the interim.
The U.N. hopes 3,500 international troops can reinforce U.N. contingent already on the ground within 10 to 15 days to help consolidate the cease-fire and create conditions for Israeli forces to head home, Assistant U.N. Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Hedi Annabi said.
The U.N. resolution passed Friday authorized the peacekeepers to use force "to ensure the movement of aid workers and protect civilians in imminent danger, among other situations." But France has been demanding a more specific mandate, including when it may use firepower.
"When you send in a force and its mission is not precise enough, and its resources are not well adapted or large enough, that can turn into a catastrophe, including for the solders that we send," Alliot-Marie said.
Israel has begun drawing down troops in the area, which numbered as high as 30,000 during the conflict, but a military chief said Wednesday that Israeli soldiers would remain in southern Lebanon for months, if necessary, until replaced by U.N. and Lebanese army soldiers, Israel Radio reported.
Lt. Gen. Dan Halutz spoke in response to an intelligence assessment that it could take months for the U.N.-Lebanese force to deploy, the radio station reported. On Tuesday, Halutz had predicted Israel would withdraw its forces from Lebanon within seven to 10 days.
In a sign of lingering danger in south Lebanon, security officials said an explosive detonated Wednesday in the town of Nabatiyeh, killing a 20-year-old man. The victim, Ali Turkieh, stepped on the bomb outside his family home. A girl in the area was injured by explosives a day earlier.
Aid officials said unexploded bombs littering southern Lebanon were forcing relief workers to move gingerly to deliver food and fuel to people cut off by weeks of fighting and to evacuate war wounded to hospitals. Lebanese authorities and Hezbollah sent teams across south Lebanon to clear explosives from the battlefield.
At a makeshift registration center set up in a Beirut high school, Hezbollah officials with pens and notebooks wrote down contact details of hundreds of people who need money to rebuild. The group's leader, Sheik Hassan Nasrallah, has promised money for civilians to pay rent and buy furniture.
A Hezbollah official said all destroyed buildings will be reconstructed exactly as they were. The source of the funding was unclear, though Hezbollah receives money from Iran.
"We will use the same maps," he said. "We will give their flats back but they will be new flats."
Lebanese refugees returning home have clogged the road from Beirut to the southern port of Tyre, but farther south near the Israeli border the scene is more desolate, said Annick Bouvier, spokeswoman in Geneva for the International Committee of the Red Cross.
"There is a lot of unexploded ordnance and in the very remote areas of southern Lebanon," Bouvier told The Associated Press. "There is not much traffic because it is a highly dangerous area to move due to unexploded ordnance."
At least 842 people were killed in Lebanon during the 34-day campaign, most of them civilians. Israel suffered 157 dead - including 118 soldiers.
AP-ES-08-16-06 1536EDT
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theone666
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UN considers Med oil spill plan
Thursday, 17 August 2006, 02:18 GMT 03:18 UK
Officials from the UN are leading talks on what international effort is needed to tackle a 140km oil spill along the Lebanese and Syrian coastline.
Thursday's meeting in Greece aims to draw up a strategy on how to clear up the oil and prevent it spreading.
Representatives from Lebanon, Syria, Greece, Turkey and the EU are expected to attend the talks.
Up to 15,000 tonnes of oil poured into the Mediterranean Sea last month after Israeli forces bombed a power station.
Marine experts were unable to visit the worst affected areas while the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah continued, but Monday's ceasefire has allowed them to begin on-the-ground assessments.
Concerted effort
Local environmental and conservation groups said that some of the oil had settled on the sea floor, threatening areas where tuna spawn.
They also voiced concern that slicks on beaches would prevent young green turtles, an endangered species, from reaching the sea after they had hatched.
The meeting in Piraeus, which will be hosted by the Greek Maritime Minister Manolis Kefaloyannis, aims to agree on the best way to tackle pollution affecting shorelines in Lebanon and Syria.
It will also consider what measures are needed to prevent the slick spreading to neighbouring nations.
The talks will be co-chaired by UN Environment Programme (Unep) executive director Achim Steiner and Efthimios Mitropoulos, secretary general of the International Maritime Organization (IMO).
Mr Mitropoulos said there were a number of reasons why a concerted effort was needed.
"[We] were conscious to contribute to any effort undertaken to mitigate the impact of the serious pollution incident."
He added that it was important to assist other countries in the region to "take all necessary preparatory measures to face any potential threat of the spill spreading over their waters".
A statement by the IMO said that once a strategy had been agreed, the clean-up and containment operation would begin as soon as possible.
Officials from the UN are leading talks on what international effort is needed to tackle a 140km oil spill along the Lebanese and Syrian coastline.
Thursday's meeting in Greece aims to draw up a strategy on how to clear up the oil and prevent it spreading.
Representatives from Lebanon, Syria, Greece, Turkey and the EU are expected to attend the talks.
Up to 15,000 tonnes of oil poured into the Mediterranean Sea last month after Israeli forces bombed a power station.
Marine experts were unable to visit the worst affected areas while the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah continued, but Monday's ceasefire has allowed them to begin on-the-ground assessments.
Concerted effort
Local environmental and conservation groups said that some of the oil had settled on the sea floor, threatening areas where tuna spawn.
They also voiced concern that slicks on beaches would prevent young green turtles, an endangered species, from reaching the sea after they had hatched.
The meeting in Piraeus, which will be hosted by the Greek Maritime Minister Manolis Kefaloyannis, aims to agree on the best way to tackle pollution affecting shorelines in Lebanon and Syria.
It will also consider what measures are needed to prevent the slick spreading to neighbouring nations.
The talks will be co-chaired by UN Environment Programme (Unep) executive director Achim Steiner and Efthimios Mitropoulos, secretary general of the International Maritime Organization (IMO).
Mr Mitropoulos said there were a number of reasons why a concerted effort was needed.
"[We] were conscious to contribute to any effort undertaken to mitigate the impact of the serious pollution incident."
He added that it was important to assist other countries in the region to "take all necessary preparatory measures to face any potential threat of the spill spreading over their waters".
A statement by the IMO said that once a strategy had been agreed, the clean-up and containment operation would begin as soon as possible.
-
theone666
- Major [O-4]
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Lebanon army starts to move south
Thursday, 17 August 2006, 05:10 GMT 06:10 UK
Lebanon's army has begun moving troops to take up positions south of the country's strategic Litani river.
France has confirmed it is ready to command an expanded international force working along with the Lebanese army, but only under certain conditions.
Israel has already passed control of some of its positions in the south to the current United Nations force there.
It indicated that a full withdrawal from what was a stronghold of Hezbollah could take weeks or even months.
An Israeli military spokeswoman said the town of Marjayoun and its surrounding area were now in the hands of troops from Unifil, the 2,000-strong existing UN force.
Areas close to the border town of Bint Jbeil have also been handed over though the town itself remains under Israeli control, she added.
Bint Jbeil saw heavy fighting with Hezbollah during Israel's month-long war with the militants, sparked by the abduction of two soldiers on the border.
The spokeswoman said the handover would continue gradually over the coming days but it was too early to say how soon Israeli troops would be able to pull out of Lebanon entirely.
Earlier, the chief of staff of the Israeli armed forces said the withdrawal would take seven to ten days although he also indicated that this would depend on the speed of the expanded UN force's deployment.
Ambiguous guidance
Lebanese army trucks and jeeps were seen moving south towards the Litani river early on Thursday.
On Wednesday, the Lebanese cabinet approved a plan to deploy 15,000 troops to the south, after several days of delay under mounting international pressure.
It is a historic step for the Lebanese army and a key element of the UN ceasefire process, the BBC's Nick Childs reports from Beirut.
Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora said the army deployment was to defend the country and that no weapons would be allowed outside the authority of the Lebanese state.
But precisely what that means for the Hezbollah presence in south Lebanon and its weaponry - whether they merely have to stay out of sight - remains ambiguous, our correspondent says.
French Defence Minister Michele Alliot-Marie has confirmed that France is ready to lead an expanded UN force in Lebanon but only with a clear mandate and sufficient resources.
It seems that these have yet to be finalised, our correspondent says.
Mandate questions
Unifil is already under French command and Ms Alliot-Marie confirmed that France would continue to lead it once it grew in strength.
But she refused to be drawn on the number of French troops that would be sent.
"Today, it's not 'How many troops and when?', it's 'To do what and how?'" she said on French TV.
She added that only once a clear mandate had been established would it be clear which other countries would join the larger force.
The UN has been counting on France to provide the backbone of the expanded force and hoping that at least 3,000 troops could be on the ground within two weeks, the BBC's Alasdair Sandford reports from Paris.
During a visit to Beirut, French Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy, said that President Jacques Chirac would decide such matters in his own time.
Hard road home
Israeli aircraft have been dropping leaflets warning refugees to stay away from southern Lebanon.
Despite these warnings, there has been a steady stream of displaced people heading home towards their villages.
The UN says around a quarter of a million have already returned but hundreds of thousands are still believed to be on the move.
They face a tough journey with traffic jams and the threat of unexploded bombs, the BBC's Greg Morsbach reports.
A spokeswoman for the charity Oxfam said some 600 roads and bridges had been destroyed.
Bulldozers are now being used to clear away debris from the highways.
The UN found 200 cluster bombs near a hospital, in the village of Tebnin.
Many of those who managed to escape days of heavy bombardment are now faced with rebuilding their villages and Hezbollah is offering assistance, our correspondent notes.
Lebanon's army has begun moving troops to take up positions south of the country's strategic Litani river.
France has confirmed it is ready to command an expanded international force working along with the Lebanese army, but only under certain conditions.
Israel has already passed control of some of its positions in the south to the current United Nations force there.
It indicated that a full withdrawal from what was a stronghold of Hezbollah could take weeks or even months.
An Israeli military spokeswoman said the town of Marjayoun and its surrounding area were now in the hands of troops from Unifil, the 2,000-strong existing UN force.
Areas close to the border town of Bint Jbeil have also been handed over though the town itself remains under Israeli control, she added.
Bint Jbeil saw heavy fighting with Hezbollah during Israel's month-long war with the militants, sparked by the abduction of two soldiers on the border.
The spokeswoman said the handover would continue gradually over the coming days but it was too early to say how soon Israeli troops would be able to pull out of Lebanon entirely.
Earlier, the chief of staff of the Israeli armed forces said the withdrawal would take seven to ten days although he also indicated that this would depend on the speed of the expanded UN force's deployment.
Ambiguous guidance
Lebanese army trucks and jeeps were seen moving south towards the Litani river early on Thursday.
On Wednesday, the Lebanese cabinet approved a plan to deploy 15,000 troops to the south, after several days of delay under mounting international pressure.
It is a historic step for the Lebanese army and a key element of the UN ceasefire process, the BBC's Nick Childs reports from Beirut.
Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora said the army deployment was to defend the country and that no weapons would be allowed outside the authority of the Lebanese state.
But precisely what that means for the Hezbollah presence in south Lebanon and its weaponry - whether they merely have to stay out of sight - remains ambiguous, our correspondent says.
French Defence Minister Michele Alliot-Marie has confirmed that France is ready to lead an expanded UN force in Lebanon but only with a clear mandate and sufficient resources.
It seems that these have yet to be finalised, our correspondent says.
Mandate questions
Unifil is already under French command and Ms Alliot-Marie confirmed that France would continue to lead it once it grew in strength.
But she refused to be drawn on the number of French troops that would be sent.
"Today, it's not 'How many troops and when?', it's 'To do what and how?'" she said on French TV.
She added that only once a clear mandate had been established would it be clear which other countries would join the larger force.
The UN has been counting on France to provide the backbone of the expanded force and hoping that at least 3,000 troops could be on the ground within two weeks, the BBC's Alasdair Sandford reports from Paris.
During a visit to Beirut, French Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy, said that President Jacques Chirac would decide such matters in his own time.
Hard road home
Israeli aircraft have been dropping leaflets warning refugees to stay away from southern Lebanon.
Despite these warnings, there has been a steady stream of displaced people heading home towards their villages.
The UN says around a quarter of a million have already returned but hundreds of thousands are still believed to be on the move.
They face a tough journey with traffic jams and the threat of unexploded bombs, the BBC's Greg Morsbach reports.
A spokeswoman for the charity Oxfam said some 600 roads and bridges had been destroyed.
Bulldozers are now being used to clear away debris from the highways.
The UN found 200 cluster bombs near a hospital, in the village of Tebnin.
Many of those who managed to escape days of heavy bombardment are now faced with rebuilding their villages and Hezbollah is offering assistance, our correspondent notes.
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Lebanese Troops Deploy Into South Lebanon
By SAM F. GHATTAS, AP
BEIRUT, Lebanon (Aug. 17) - Lebanese troops began deploying south of the strategic Litani River early Thursday, a senior military official said, after the Israeli army stepped up its withdrawal from the south Lebanon region and handed over some of its positions to U.N. peacekeepers.
The rapid developments aimed at ending 34 days of fighting came after Lebanon's government agreed Wednesday to deploy troops near Israel's border for the first time in 40 years.
A senior official in the Lebanese army told The Associated Press around dawn Thursday that Lebanese troops, backed by tanks and other armored vehicles, had begun arriving south of the river in line with the U.N. cease-fire plan. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn't authorized to make statements to the media.
An Associated Press reporter saw about 40 military trucks and jeeps, carrying soldiers, equipment, luggage and plastic water tanks, heading through central Beirut on their way to south Lebanon at around 4 a.m. Lebanese flags were mounted on the vehicles.
The Lebanese army had also been assembling north of the Litani River, 18 miles from the Israeli border.
The Lebanese Cabinet decision fell short of agreement on disarming the Hezbollah militant group, which has insisted it has the right to defend Lebanese territory as long as Israeli troops remain in the country.
More than half the area Israel holds in Lebanon has been transferred to the U.N. peacekeeping force known as UNIFIL, the Israeli army said, adding the process would occur in stages and would depend on a stronger U.N. force as well as "the ability of the Lebanese army to take effective control of the area."
The army said it was the first time it had handed over territory to the United Nations, although it had redeployed some of its forces previously.
By Thursday morning, all Israeli reservists had left Lebanon and only regular troops were still patrolling there, Israel TV's Channel Two reported. The Israeli military could not immediately confirm the report, but said the plan was for all reservists to be out of Lebanon very soon.
The cease-fire plan calls for the 2,000-member U.N. force to increase to 15,000 and to be joined eventually by an equal number of Lebanese to assume control as Israeli forces withdraw.
Before dawn Thursday, several hundred Israeli soldiers crossed back over the border into Israel. Some smiled, sang and rejoiced, while others just looked relieved to be out. One soldier sat down and cried, his head buried in his arms, after reaching Israel again.
Many said they had little faith that UNIFIL and the Lebanese army would be able to rein in Hezbollah.
"I ... hope so, but if we have to come back we'll come back and we'll do it again," said John Braun, a military doctor.
Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni said completion of the Israeli pullout depended on the presence of both the Lebanese army and an international force. She also said she wanted the international force to help monitor the border to prevent Iran and Syria from replenishing Hezbollah's weapons.
"If there is a place that Israel can withdraw from and the Lebanese army can come, plus international forces, we'll do it," Livni said after meeting with U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan in New York. "But if it takes time until the international forces are organized, it takes time until Israel withdraws. This is the equation."
Israel had as many as 30,000 troops in southern Lebanon during the conflict that began July 12 when Hezbollah captured two Israeli soldiers in a cross-border raid. Lt. Gen. Dan Halutz, the Israeli chief of staff, said earlier Wednesday that Israeli soldiers would stay in southern Lebanon for months, if necessary.
Despite continued division over disarming Hezbollah, the Cabinet decision to deploy Lebanese troops was a major step toward meeting demands that the guerrillas be removed from Israel's northern frontier. It would also mark the extension of government sovereignty over the whole country for the first time since 1969, when the Lebanese government sanctioned Palestinian cross-border attacks on Israel.
The Lebanese government, which includes two Hezbollah ministers, met for the first time since the cease-fire took hold Monday, after two postponements because of divisions over Hezbollah's arms. The guerrillas have resisted pressure to give them up or even withdraw them from the border area.
"There will be no confrontation between the army and brothers in Hezbollah," Information Minister Ghazi Aridi said. "That is not the army's mission."
"There will be no authority or weapons other than those of the state," Aridi said. "If any weapon is found, even the brothers in Hezbollah have said 'Let it be in the hands of the army. No problem."'
Hezbollah's top official in south Lebanon hinted that the guerrillas would not disarm or withdraw but would keep its weapons out of sight. Hezbollah will have "no visible military presence," Sheik Nabil Kaouk told reporters in the southern port city of Tyre.
Hezbollah has used charity work and social welfare programs financed by Iran to win wide support throughout Lebanon.
The Shiite Muslim militant group continued that tradition Wednesday, saying it would help tens of thousands of Lebanese reconstruct homes that were destroyed by Israel, a move likely to deepen support among Shiites, who make up about 35 percent of Lebanon's 4 million people.
At a Beirut high school, Hezbollah officials took information from hundreds of people who need money to rebuild. The group's leader, Sheik Hassan Nasrallah, has promised money for civilians to pay rent and even buy furniture.
The Lebanese death toll, meanwhile, rose to 842 when rescue workers pulled 32 bodies from the rubble in the southern town of Srifa, target of some of Israel's heaviest bombardment in the 34-day conflict. The figure was assembled from reports by security and police officials, doctors, civil defense workers, morgue attendants and the military.
The Israeli toll was 157, including 118 soldiers, according to its military and government.
Foreign diplomats worked to assemble the international force that will augment the current 2,000-member U.N. peacekeepers, known as UNIFIL, who have been in the area for more than two decades. The U.N. hopes 3,500 international troops can reinforce the contingent already on the ground within 10 to 15 days, Assistant U.N. Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Hedi Annabi said.
French Defense Minister Michele Alliot-Marie said France is willing to lead the enlarged U.N. force until at least February.
Associated Press reporters Hussein Dakroub and Bassem Mroue in Beirut, Kathy Gannon in Tyre, Lebanon, Gavin Rabinowitz in Jerusalem and Edith M. Lederer at the United Nations contributed to this report.
08-17-06 01:45 EDT
BEIRUT, Lebanon (Aug. 17) - Lebanese troops began deploying south of the strategic Litani River early Thursday, a senior military official said, after the Israeli army stepped up its withdrawal from the south Lebanon region and handed over some of its positions to U.N. peacekeepers.
The rapid developments aimed at ending 34 days of fighting came after Lebanon's government agreed Wednesday to deploy troops near Israel's border for the first time in 40 years.
A senior official in the Lebanese army told The Associated Press around dawn Thursday that Lebanese troops, backed by tanks and other armored vehicles, had begun arriving south of the river in line with the U.N. cease-fire plan. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn't authorized to make statements to the media.
An Associated Press reporter saw about 40 military trucks and jeeps, carrying soldiers, equipment, luggage and plastic water tanks, heading through central Beirut on their way to south Lebanon at around 4 a.m. Lebanese flags were mounted on the vehicles.
The Lebanese army had also been assembling north of the Litani River, 18 miles from the Israeli border.
The Lebanese Cabinet decision fell short of agreement on disarming the Hezbollah militant group, which has insisted it has the right to defend Lebanese territory as long as Israeli troops remain in the country.
More than half the area Israel holds in Lebanon has been transferred to the U.N. peacekeeping force known as UNIFIL, the Israeli army said, adding the process would occur in stages and would depend on a stronger U.N. force as well as "the ability of the Lebanese army to take effective control of the area."
The army said it was the first time it had handed over territory to the United Nations, although it had redeployed some of its forces previously.
By Thursday morning, all Israeli reservists had left Lebanon and only regular troops were still patrolling there, Israel TV's Channel Two reported. The Israeli military could not immediately confirm the report, but said the plan was for all reservists to be out of Lebanon very soon.
The cease-fire plan calls for the 2,000-member U.N. force to increase to 15,000 and to be joined eventually by an equal number of Lebanese to assume control as Israeli forces withdraw.
Before dawn Thursday, several hundred Israeli soldiers crossed back over the border into Israel. Some smiled, sang and rejoiced, while others just looked relieved to be out. One soldier sat down and cried, his head buried in his arms, after reaching Israel again.
Many said they had little faith that UNIFIL and the Lebanese army would be able to rein in Hezbollah.
"I ... hope so, but if we have to come back we'll come back and we'll do it again," said John Braun, a military doctor.
Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni said completion of the Israeli pullout depended on the presence of both the Lebanese army and an international force. She also said she wanted the international force to help monitor the border to prevent Iran and Syria from replenishing Hezbollah's weapons.
"If there is a place that Israel can withdraw from and the Lebanese army can come, plus international forces, we'll do it," Livni said after meeting with U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan in New York. "But if it takes time until the international forces are organized, it takes time until Israel withdraws. This is the equation."
Israel had as many as 30,000 troops in southern Lebanon during the conflict that began July 12 when Hezbollah captured two Israeli soldiers in a cross-border raid. Lt. Gen. Dan Halutz, the Israeli chief of staff, said earlier Wednesday that Israeli soldiers would stay in southern Lebanon for months, if necessary.
Despite continued division over disarming Hezbollah, the Cabinet decision to deploy Lebanese troops was a major step toward meeting demands that the guerrillas be removed from Israel's northern frontier. It would also mark the extension of government sovereignty over the whole country for the first time since 1969, when the Lebanese government sanctioned Palestinian cross-border attacks on Israel.
The Lebanese government, which includes two Hezbollah ministers, met for the first time since the cease-fire took hold Monday, after two postponements because of divisions over Hezbollah's arms. The guerrillas have resisted pressure to give them up or even withdraw them from the border area.
"There will be no confrontation between the army and brothers in Hezbollah," Information Minister Ghazi Aridi said. "That is not the army's mission."
"There will be no authority or weapons other than those of the state," Aridi said. "If any weapon is found, even the brothers in Hezbollah have said 'Let it be in the hands of the army. No problem."'
Hezbollah's top official in south Lebanon hinted that the guerrillas would not disarm or withdraw but would keep its weapons out of sight. Hezbollah will have "no visible military presence," Sheik Nabil Kaouk told reporters in the southern port city of Tyre.
Hezbollah has used charity work and social welfare programs financed by Iran to win wide support throughout Lebanon.
The Shiite Muslim militant group continued that tradition Wednesday, saying it would help tens of thousands of Lebanese reconstruct homes that were destroyed by Israel, a move likely to deepen support among Shiites, who make up about 35 percent of Lebanon's 4 million people.
At a Beirut high school, Hezbollah officials took information from hundreds of people who need money to rebuild. The group's leader, Sheik Hassan Nasrallah, has promised money for civilians to pay rent and even buy furniture.
The Lebanese death toll, meanwhile, rose to 842 when rescue workers pulled 32 bodies from the rubble in the southern town of Srifa, target of some of Israel's heaviest bombardment in the 34-day conflict. The figure was assembled from reports by security and police officials, doctors, civil defense workers, morgue attendants and the military.
The Israeli toll was 157, including 118 soldiers, according to its military and government.
Foreign diplomats worked to assemble the international force that will augment the current 2,000-member U.N. peacekeepers, known as UNIFIL, who have been in the area for more than two decades. The U.N. hopes 3,500 international troops can reinforce the contingent already on the ground within 10 to 15 days, Assistant U.N. Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Hedi Annabi said.
French Defense Minister Michele Alliot-Marie said France is willing to lead the enlarged U.N. force until at least February.
Associated Press reporters Hussein Dakroub and Bassem Mroue in Beirut, Kathy Gannon in Tyre, Lebanon, Gavin Rabinowitz in Jerusalem and Edith M. Lederer at the United Nations contributed to this report.
08-17-06 01:45 EDT
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theone666
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Germans argue over Lebanon role
Thursday, 17 August 2006, 12:17 GMT 13:17 UK
Germany is waiting to hear precisely what the mandate of the UN force for Lebanon will be before it decides what role to play in it.
Party leaders in the ruling coalition said on Wednesday they had agreed in principle on contributing to the planned international force.
But sensitivities about Germany's past make some politicians uneasy about the idea of German troops facing Israelis.
Germany may help in humanitarian work and securing the Lebanon-Syria border.
"Many questions are still open," said government spokesman Thomas Steg.
"Germany is prepared to make a contribution if there is a clear definition. It depends on certain factors and these factors are still unclear," he said.
No combat troops
Any cabinet decision to send troops would still have to be approved by parliament.
Coalition officials said they were considering providing naval patrols or police to help secure the Lebanon-Syria border.
Germany has sent 7,700 soldiers overseas already to serve with international forces in Afghanistan, the Balkans and DR Congo.
Edmund Stoiber, head of the conservative Bavarian CSU party allied to Chancellor Angela Merkel's Christian Democrats, firmly opposed any deployment of German combat troops.
He said his Christian Social Union "will never vote for a combat operation for German soldiers in the buffer zone between Hezbollah and the Israeli border".
Lebanese troops on Thursday crossed the strategic Litani river to take up positions as Israel's army pulls back.
France has confirmed it is ready to command an expanded international force working along with the Lebanese army, but only with a clear mandate and sufficient resources.
Germany is waiting to hear precisely what the mandate of the UN force for Lebanon will be before it decides what role to play in it.
Party leaders in the ruling coalition said on Wednesday they had agreed in principle on contributing to the planned international force.
But sensitivities about Germany's past make some politicians uneasy about the idea of German troops facing Israelis.
Germany may help in humanitarian work and securing the Lebanon-Syria border.
"Many questions are still open," said government spokesman Thomas Steg.
"Germany is prepared to make a contribution if there is a clear definition. It depends on certain factors and these factors are still unclear," he said.
No combat troops
Any cabinet decision to send troops would still have to be approved by parliament.
Coalition officials said they were considering providing naval patrols or police to help secure the Lebanon-Syria border.
Germany has sent 7,700 soldiers overseas already to serve with international forces in Afghanistan, the Balkans and DR Congo.
Edmund Stoiber, head of the conservative Bavarian CSU party allied to Chancellor Angela Merkel's Christian Democrats, firmly opposed any deployment of German combat troops.
He said his Christian Social Union "will never vote for a combat operation for German soldiers in the buffer zone between Hezbollah and the Israeli border".
Lebanese troops on Thursday crossed the strategic Litani river to take up positions as Israel's army pulls back.
France has confirmed it is ready to command an expanded international force working along with the Lebanese army, but only with a clear mandate and sufficient resources.
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theone666
- Major [O-4]
- Posts: 1434
- Joined: Mon Nov 21, 2005 5:00 am
Israel launches Lebanon inquiry
Thursday, 17 August 2006, 10:57 GMT 11:57 UK
Israel has set up a commission to investigate how the military campaign in Lebanon was conducted.
The move was announced by the Defence Minister, Amir Peretz.
The commission, to be headed by retired Israeli army chief Amnon Lipkin-Shahak, has been asked to produce an interim report within three weeks.
Opposition politicians have called for an independent commission, not one appointed by Mr Peretz, into the army's handling of the conflict.
The announcement follows days of strong criticism in Israel of Mr Peretz and Prime Minister Ehud Olmert about the way the conflict was pursued, and demands for an official inquiry.
The chorus of disapproval has come from opposition politicians, the media and the public.
'Aims not met'
Several newspapers have published opinion polls suggesting that two-thirds of the Israeli public want a commission set up to examine why the Israeli military failed to defeat Hezbollah's guerrilla fighters.
More than half those questioned thought that Mr Peretz should have resigned and that the military campaign should have continued.
Throughout the military campaign against Lebanon that the twin aims of the war were the return of the captured Israeli soldiers, and the removal of Hezbollah's influence from southern Lebanon.
Critics of Mr Olmert and Mr Peretz have said that neither of these aims has been achieved.
Silvan Shalom, a senior member of the opposition Likud party and a former foreign minister, told the BBC that he believed the inquiry would be a waste of time.
"I think that this inquiry committee is an internal one and it can't investigate or ask questions of the minister of defence himself because he appointed them," he said.
"It should be an external inquiry commission that would investigate the performance and the preparations of the Israeli Defence Force for the war in Lebanon."
Israel has set up a commission to investigate how the military campaign in Lebanon was conducted.
The move was announced by the Defence Minister, Amir Peretz.
The commission, to be headed by retired Israeli army chief Amnon Lipkin-Shahak, has been asked to produce an interim report within three weeks.
Opposition politicians have called for an independent commission, not one appointed by Mr Peretz, into the army's handling of the conflict.
The announcement follows days of strong criticism in Israel of Mr Peretz and Prime Minister Ehud Olmert about the way the conflict was pursued, and demands for an official inquiry.
The chorus of disapproval has come from opposition politicians, the media and the public.
'Aims not met'
Several newspapers have published opinion polls suggesting that two-thirds of the Israeli public want a commission set up to examine why the Israeli military failed to defeat Hezbollah's guerrilla fighters.
More than half those questioned thought that Mr Peretz should have resigned and that the military campaign should have continued.
Throughout the military campaign against Lebanon that the twin aims of the war were the return of the captured Israeli soldiers, and the removal of Hezbollah's influence from southern Lebanon.
Critics of Mr Olmert and Mr Peretz have said that neither of these aims has been achieved.
Silvan Shalom, a senior member of the opposition Likud party and a former foreign minister, told the BBC that he believed the inquiry would be a waste of time.
"I think that this inquiry committee is an internal one and it can't investigate or ask questions of the minister of defence himself because he appointed them," he said.
"It should be an external inquiry commission that would investigate the performance and the preparations of the Israeli Defence Force for the war in Lebanon."