Official: Aim is to hand over 'cleaner' S. Lebanon to Lebanese army

[milmor_1]

Official: Aim is to hand over 'cleaner' S. Lebanon to Lebanese army

By Aluf Benn, Amos Harel, Yoav Stern and Eli Ashkenazi, and Agencies

A United Nations-brokered cease-fire would go into effect on Monday morning at 7 A.M., a senior Israeli government official said Saturday afternoon.

By then, Israel Defense Forces troops are expected to reach the Litani River, some 30 kilometers inside Lebanon, with the purpose of cutting off Hezbollah forces further south, toward the border with Israel. In the event that the fighting resumes, IDF forces will then be in a position to move more effectively against Hezbollah militants.

Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's office, meanwhile, said late Friday that the expanded incursion into Lebanon would continue "for the time being," despite Israel's agreement to a cease-fire resolution drafted by the United Nations Security Council. The cabinet is expected to vote Sunday on the resolution.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Mark Regev said Saturday that Israel would press ahead with its military offensive in south Lebanon until the Cabinet approved the cease-fire deal. "The logic would be that even in the framework of this successful outcome, if you hand over to the Lebanese army a cleaner south Lebanon, a south Lebanon where you have Hezbollah removed from the territory, that makes their [the Lebanese] troubles a lot easier," Regev said.

A government source said Friday that Olmert, Defense Minister Amir Peretz and Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni agreed to the UN cease-fire resolution following last-minute changes to the text. "The various key ministers have voiced satisfaction at the amendments made over the last few hours," the source said. "For implementation by Israel, this now requires a cabinet vote. The idea is that the military offensive will continue until then."

Earlier Friday, Olmert issued the order for an expanded ground operation after diplomatic efforts at the UN looked to be faltering. The text which was drafted on Friday is a significantly altered version of Thursday's draft. Lebanon had said it was opposed to a more robust contingent of UNIFIL troops and to granting UNIFIL the authority to enforce the cease-fire.

These points caused more concern to Israel than clauses referring to Shaba Farms and the lack of border supervision against weapons smuggling.

Under these circumstances, the source said, Olmert decided to issue the order for the ground assault while continuing diplomatic negotiations in parallel.

Olmert's spokesman, Asaf Shariv, said that the expanded incursion had already begun. He said that the cease-fire deal being worked out by the Security Council failed to meet Israel's basic requirements, such as stationing a strong force of international combat troops in southern Lebanon once Israel withdraws.

"Yesterday we were very optimistic, but they [the Security Council] took the wrong turn," Shariv said.

Defense sources say that the cease-fire resolution is not ripe, adding that plans had been made for the IDF to push northwards. If significant progress is made on the diplomatic front, they said, the IDF would halt its advance.

Sources also said that restarting military operations could yield more favorable terms for Israel in the cease-fire resolution being discussed at the UN.

The prime minister updated a number of officials in the political echelon of his decision, including President Moshe Katsav, Knesset Speaker MK Dalia Itzik, government ministers, and MKs Benjamin Netanyahu, Avigdor Lieberman, Effi Eitam, and Tzachi Hanegbi.

Olmert thanked U.S. President George W. Bush Friday for his work on the UN Security Council resolution to stop violence between Israel and Hezbollah, the White House said in recounting the first direct talks between the two leaders since the fighting began.

The eight-minute phone call with Bush at his ranch in Texas was initiated by Olmert, said Frederick Jones, spokesman for the National Security Council at the White House.

"The president expressed his view that the crisis was provoked by Hezbollah with the support of Iran and Syria and that we need to ensure that the reach of the Lebanese government extends throughout the country," Jones said.

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/749566.html

[Woodmonkey]

I think that Israel is dragging it's feet on this cease-fire for some valid reasons. Cease-fires haven't solved anything in the past and this gives them time to isolate and pound Hezbollah.