Israel
Rules Out A Ceasefire
As Syria Puts Troops On Alert
By Donald Macintyre
in Metulla, northern Israel
01 August 2006
The
Independent
Israel
plans to "expand and strengthen" its military operations in
Lebanon, despite the growing international calls for a ceasefire and
its own agreement to a 48-hour halt to bombing after killing 56 civilians,
including many children, in Qana.
Ehud Olmert, the Israeli
Prime Minister, indicated in a televised address last night that there
would be no ceasefire in the coming days and said the 20-day military
offensive in Lebanon would end when the rockets fired by Hizbollah on
northern Israel had ceased and the two soldiers seized on 12 July were
freed. And last night it was reported that Israel's security cabinet
had approved widening the ground offensive in Lebanon.
Defending a military campaign
that has been supported so far by an overwhelming majority of the Israeli
public, but which has also drawn criticism from military analysts for
not realising its main objectives, Mr Olmert insisted the campaign had
dealt Hizbollah "a heavy blow" from which it "may never
recover".
He added: "We could
not let the terror organisation on our border get stronger ... If we
had held off, the day would have arrived soon when they would have caused
unprecedented damage."
Meanwhile Syrian President
Bashar al-Assad told his military to raise its readiness, pledging not
to abandon support for Lebanese resistance against Israel. In an annual
address on the anniversary of the foundation of the Syria Arab Army,
Mr Assad called on the military to "work on more preparedness and
raise readiness of all units".
Thousands of Lebanese civilians
took advantage of the bombing pause to flee north. But, explaining that
the halt was "partial" and did not apply to Hizbollah targets
threatening Israeli troops or civilians, the Israeli air force hit a
truck close to a Lebanese border post at a crossing into Syria. The
Israel Defence Forces (IDF) said it was carrying weapons; Lebanese police
officials said it was carrying relief supplies.
Another air strike killed
a Lebanese soldier near Tyre. The IDF said it mistakenly thought the
vehicle had contained a senior Hizbollah official.
Close to the border near
Metulla, the northernmost village in Israel, jutting into Lebanon and
surrounded by its hills on three sides, there was artillery and tank
fire throughout the day. Israeli tanks, heavy artillery and troops continued
to fire at targets in the eastern sector of its northern border, and
aircraft also fired into open areas near Taibein support of ground troops,
after Hizbollah guerrillas fired a missile at a tank close to the border,
wounding three soldiers.
Hizbollah also fired at least
two rockets at the town of Kyriat Shimona, but, by nightfall, had otherwise
refrained from rocket launches which reached a peak of more than
140 attacks on Sunday.
The IDF emphatically denied
a claim by Hizbollah on its Al Manar TV network that it had hit an Israeli
ship off the southern Lebanon coast.
Amir Peretz, the Israeli
Defence Minister, told a heated session of the Knesset, that "it
is forbidden to agree to an immediate ceasefire" . In a session
in which four Arab Knesset members were ordered out of the chamber for
heckling angrily in protest at the bombing of Qana, Mr Peretz said that
agreeing to an immediate ceasefire would mean that "we will find
ourselves in a few months in a similar situation".
He added: "We have to
finish the operation, and I will do it. The army will expand and deepen
its actions against Hizbollah."
Israel plans to "expand
and strengthen" its military operations in Lebanon, despite the
growing international calls for a ceasefire and its own agreement to
a 48-hour halt to bombing after killing 56 civilians, including many
children, in Qana.
Ehud Olmert, the Israeli
Prime Minister, indicated in a televised address last night that there
would be no ceasefire in the coming days and said the 20-day military
offensive in Lebanon would end when the rockets fired by Hizbollah on
northern Israel had ceased and the two soldiers seized on 12 July were
freed. And last night it was reported that Israel's security cabinet
had approved widening the ground offensive in Lebanon.
Defending a military campaign
that has been supported so far by an overwhelming majority of the Israeli
public, but which has also drawn criticism from military analysts for
not realising its main objectives, Mr Olmert insisted the campaign had
dealt Hizbollah "a heavy blow" from which it "may never
recover".
He added: "We could
not let the terror organisation on our border get stronger ... If we
had held off, the day would have arrived soon when they would have caused
unprecedented damage."
Meanwhile Syrian President
Bashar al-Assad told his military to raise its readiness, pledging not
to abandon support for Lebanese resistance against Israel. In an annual
address on the anniversary of the foundation of the Syria Arab Army,
Mr Assad called on the military to "work on more preparedness and
raise readiness of all units".
Thousands of Lebanese civilians
took advantage of the bombing pause to flee north. But, explaining that
the halt was "partial" and did not apply to Hizbollah targets
threatening Israeli troops or civilians, the Israeli air force hit a
truck close to a Lebanese border post at a crossing into Syria. The
Israel Defence Forces (IDF) said it was carrying weapons; Lebanese police
officials said it was carrying relief supplies.
Another air strike killed a Lebanese soldier near Tyre. The IDF said
it mistakenly thought the vehicle had contained a senior Hizbollah official.
Close to the border near
Metulla, the northernmost village in Israel, jutting into Lebanon and
surrounded by its hills on three sides, there was artillery and tank
fire throughout the day. Israeli tanks, heavy artillery and troops continued
to fire at targets in the eastern sector of its northern border, and
aircraft also fired into open areas near Taibein support of ground troops,
after Hizbollah guerrillas fired a missile at a tank close to the border,
wounding three soldiers.
Hizbollah also fired at least
two rockets at the town of Kyriat Shimona, but, by nightfall, had otherwise
refrained from rocket launches which reached a peak of more than
140 attacks on Sunday.
The IDF emphatically denied
a claim by Hizbollah on its Al Manar TV network that it had hit an Israeli
ship off the southern Lebanon coast.
Amir Peretz, the Israeli
Defence Minister, told a heated session of the Knesset, that "it
is forbidden to agree to an immediate ceasefire" . In a session
in which four Arab Knesset members were ordered out of the chamber for
heckling angrily in protest at the bombing of Qana, Mr Peretz said that
agreeing to an immediate ceasefire would mean that "we will find
ourselves in a few months in a similar situation".
He added: "We have to
finish the operation, and I will do it. The army will expand and deepen
its actions against Hizbollah."
© 2006 Independent News
and Media Limited