31/07/06, Spiegel, Israel Suspends Bombing for 48 Hours
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Rice Hoping For Cease-Fire This Week
With international outrage growing after the bloodiest attack on Lebanese civilians yet by Israel forces, Jerusalem has ordered a 48-hour pause in bombings. The United States says a cease-fire may be possible this week, but Washington's failure to call for its immediate implementation has left allies disappointed.
Under pressure from Washington, Israel has suspended its aerial bombardment of southern Lebanon for 48 hours after Sunday's air strike that killed at least 56 people, including 37 children. United States Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said on Monday she believed a cease-fire between Israel and the Hezbollah guerrilla group in Lebanon could be forged this week.
The suspension will be used to investigate the attack on the village of Qana on Saturday night, and Israel also agreed to allow a 24-hour window for residents of southern Lebanon to leave the area if they wish, said US State Department spokesman Adam Ereli.
The halt to bombing is a seen as victory for US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, but her failure to call for an immediate cease-fire is likely to disappoint US allies alarmed at the hundreds of civilian casualties in the war.
At least 542 people have been killed in Lebanon, though the Lebanese health minister estimated the toll at 750 including unrecovered bodies, Reuters reported. Fifty-one Israelis have been killed in the war.
The Qana raid, the bloodiest single attack during Israel's 20-day-old war on Hezbollah, prompted Lebanon's government to call off scheduled talks with Rice and tell her she was not welcome until an unconditional cease-fire was in place. After shunning Rice, Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora, often a critic of Hezbollah, thanked those in the militia "who sacrifice their lives for the independence and sovereignty of Lebanon."
A cease-fire this week?
Rice told reporters on Monday in Jerusalem: "This morning, as I head back to Washington, I take with me an emerging consensus on what is necessary for both an urgent cease-fire and lasting settlement. I am convinced we can achieve both this week."
She said she would call for a UN resolution this week on the cease-fire and also the establishment of an international stabilization force for southern Lebanon, which she said she hoped could be deployed as soon as possible after the passage of a UN resolution.
Israel and the United States want to ensure that Hezbollah is eventually disarmed under a UN resolution.
"There is broad agreement that armed groups must be prohibited in areas where the international force is deployed," Rice said, adding that an arms embargo must be enforced.
Rice welcomed the 48-hour suspension of bombing, saying: "I have been deeply grieved by the tragic losses we have witnessed, especially the deaths of children, Lebanese and Israelis. Too many families have been displaced from their homes. Too many people urgently need medical care or are living in shelters," she said.
Israel: We regret incident
The police said the Qana raid flattened a three-story building where more than 60 displaced people were in the basement. Israel said it was unaware civilians were in the building and accused Hezbollah of firing rockets from Qana.
Israel said it regretted the incident but added that civilians had been warned to flee the village, located 11 kilometers from the Israeli border.
Israeli Justice Minister Haim Ramon said the 48-hour suspension did not mean the war was about to end. "This decision will allow us to continue the war over time and it will take off some of the political pressure, so I am sure this is the right decision for now. It is not stopping the war," Ramon told Israeli Army Radio.
"If it ends today it means a victory for Hezbollah ... and for world terror, with far-reaching consequences. Therefore this war is not about to end, not today and not tomorrow," he said.
British Prime Minister Tony Blair and German Chancellor Angela Merkel discussed the Middle East crisis by telephone on Sunday evening. Both "expressed their great regret and deep sorrow over the result of the Israeli air raid on Qana in which many innocent people, among them many women and children, lost their lives," said German government spokesman Ulrich Wilhelm.
As anger convulsed Lebanon and the Arab world, several thousand protesters chanted "Death to Israel, Death to America" outside the United Nations headquarters in downtown Beirut and some smashed their way into the building in a path of destruction.
Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said Israel would "continue to act with no hesitation against Hezbollah" which has been firing rockets into Israel from southern Lebanon.
With international outrage growing after the bloodiest attack on Lebanese civilians yet by Israel forces, Jerusalem has ordered a 48-hour pause in bombings. The United States says a cease-fire may be possible this week, but Washington's failure to call for its immediate implementation has left allies disappointed.
Under pressure from Washington, Israel has suspended its aerial bombardment of southern Lebanon for 48 hours after Sunday's air strike that killed at least 56 people, including 37 children. United States Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said on Monday she believed a cease-fire between Israel and the Hezbollah guerrilla group in Lebanon could be forged this week.
The suspension will be used to investigate the attack on the village of Qana on Saturday night, and Israel also agreed to allow a 24-hour window for residents of southern Lebanon to leave the area if they wish, said US State Department spokesman Adam Ereli.
The halt to bombing is a seen as victory for US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, but her failure to call for an immediate cease-fire is likely to disappoint US allies alarmed at the hundreds of civilian casualties in the war.
At least 542 people have been killed in Lebanon, though the Lebanese health minister estimated the toll at 750 including unrecovered bodies, Reuters reported. Fifty-one Israelis have been killed in the war.
The Qana raid, the bloodiest single attack during Israel's 20-day-old war on Hezbollah, prompted Lebanon's government to call off scheduled talks with Rice and tell her she was not welcome until an unconditional cease-fire was in place. After shunning Rice, Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora, often a critic of Hezbollah, thanked those in the militia "who sacrifice their lives for the independence and sovereignty of Lebanon."
A cease-fire this week?
Rice told reporters on Monday in Jerusalem: "This morning, as I head back to Washington, I take with me an emerging consensus on what is necessary for both an urgent cease-fire and lasting settlement. I am convinced we can achieve both this week."
She said she would call for a UN resolution this week on the cease-fire and also the establishment of an international stabilization force for southern Lebanon, which she said she hoped could be deployed as soon as possible after the passage of a UN resolution.
Israel and the United States want to ensure that Hezbollah is eventually disarmed under a UN resolution.
"There is broad agreement that armed groups must be prohibited in areas where the international force is deployed," Rice said, adding that an arms embargo must be enforced.
Rice welcomed the 48-hour suspension of bombing, saying: "I have been deeply grieved by the tragic losses we have witnessed, especially the deaths of children, Lebanese and Israelis. Too many families have been displaced from their homes. Too many people urgently need medical care or are living in shelters," she said.
Israel: We regret incident
The police said the Qana raid flattened a three-story building where more than 60 displaced people were in the basement. Israel said it was unaware civilians were in the building and accused Hezbollah of firing rockets from Qana.
Israel said it regretted the incident but added that civilians had been warned to flee the village, located 11 kilometers from the Israeli border.
Israeli Justice Minister Haim Ramon said the 48-hour suspension did not mean the war was about to end. "This decision will allow us to continue the war over time and it will take off some of the political pressure, so I am sure this is the right decision for now. It is not stopping the war," Ramon told Israeli Army Radio.
"If it ends today it means a victory for Hezbollah ... and for world terror, with far-reaching consequences. Therefore this war is not about to end, not today and not tomorrow," he said.
British Prime Minister Tony Blair and German Chancellor Angela Merkel discussed the Middle East crisis by telephone on Sunday evening. Both "expressed their great regret and deep sorrow over the result of the Israeli air raid on Qana in which many innocent people, among them many women and children, lost their lives," said German government spokesman Ulrich Wilhelm.
As anger convulsed Lebanon and the Arab world, several thousand protesters chanted "Death to Israel, Death to America" outside the United Nations headquarters in downtown Beirut and some smashed their way into the building in a path of destruction.
Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said Israel would "continue to act with no hesitation against Hezbollah" which has been firing rockets into Israel from southern Lebanon.
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