While
The UN fiddles...
The Middle East Burns
By Donald Macintyre
in Kfar Giladi, Eric Silver in Jerusalem,
Anne Penketh and Colin Brown
07 August 2006
The
Independent
Israel
suffered its worst casualties in its 26-day war on Hizbollah while United
Nations negotiations for a ceasefire intensified.
A direct hit by a Katyusha
rocket killed 12 Israeli soldiers in the border kibbutz of Kfar Giladi
yesterday while a barrage of rockets aimed at Israel's third city, Haifa,
left three civilians dead and 150 wounded.
On the other side of the
border, 19 Lebanese civilians were killed by Israel's bombardment of
southern Lebanon. The heavy casualties reinforced Israel's insistence
that any UN ceasefire resolution must ensure that Hizbollah gunmen cannot
return to its northern border. Diplomats hope that foreign ministers
will vote in the next day or two on a United Nations resolution, despite
Lebanon rejecting the US-French draft because it failed to order an
immediate ceasefire and Israeli troops out of southern Lebanon.
But the US and Britain warned
that a UN resolution was only a "first step" towards ending
the violence, as Israel and Hizbollah militants used the window before
a vote to inflict maximum damage.
Condoleezza Rice, the US
Secretary of State, said: "We're trying to deal with a problem
that has been festering and brewing in Lebanon now for years and years
and years. And so it's not going to be solved by one resolution in the
Security Council. These things take a while to wind down."
The Kfar Giladi attack was
the worst in numbers of Israeli victims since the conflict began, and
also caused the highest single death toll of Israeli soldiers in the
same period. But Haifa was in chaos after Hizbollah launched its worst
attack on the city. Last night Israel claimed it had hit the Hizbollah
site that had launched the rocket attacks at the city.
The 12 reservists in Kfar
Giladi appeared to have been sitting and standing in the shade of a
cemetery wall for a briefing when a Katyusha rocket landed right by
them, incinerating two cars in the parking lot beside the wall.
As heavy smoke hung in the
air from brush fires ignited by other rockets in a withering 15-minute
barrage, which landed in the hills above the town of Kiryat Shmona,
the charred remains of the vehicles and other debris had been piled
high by the wall. Sponge mattresses, possibly from the men's packs,
were also piled in the parking lot.
A member of the Kfar Giladi
security committee said that, unlike local civilians, the victims had
not taken cover in shelters when sirens sounded.
"This shouldn't have
happened," he said. "We sounded the alert several minutes
before the rocket hit." An officer at the scene said that the explosion
had blasted shrapnel 30 metres away. The front of one of the destroyed
cars was compressed, suggesting the rocket might have landed directly
on it. There was also what looked like a small crater close to the wall.
Intensive diplomatic activity
was going on behind the scenes last night, as Tony Blair telephoned
President George Bush and the Russian leader, Vladimir Putin. He also
sought to contact Jacques Chirac, whose country is expected to lead
a multinational force in southern Lebanon that would be part of a longer-term
solution described in the draft plan.
"They discussed how
they will get the resolution through," said a Downing Street aide.
"We can't take anything for granted."
The draft text calls for
a "full cessation of hostilities". Whereas Hizbollah is expected
to observe an "immediate" ceasefire, Israel is instructed
to immediately halt "all offensive military operations". Israel
would therefore be allowed to hit back if Hizbollah did not refrain
from all attacks. The draft would allow Israeli troops to stay in southern
Lebanon until an international force was deployed there.
In Beirut, Hizbollah announced
it would agree to the ceasefire only after Israel stopped all attacks
and withdrew from Lebanese territory. Nabih Berri, the speaker of the
Lebanese parliament, who represents Hizbollah in negotiations, said
the draft resolution was unacceptable since it did not deal with Beirut's
key demands, including a release of prisoners held by Israel.
Fouad Siniora, Lebanon's
Prime Minister, said that his government would demand amendments to
the resolution.Israeli officials were reluctant to comment on the provisional
text, which was published on Saturday and which security council diplomats
continued to discuss yesterday, probably because it meets far more Israeli
demands than Lebanese.
The Israelis were less happy,
however, with a supervisory role assigned to Unifil, the UN Interim
Force in Lebanon, until a more robust international force was in place.
Israel has long complained that Unifil has failed to prevent Hizbollah
attacks. The draft also provides for an eventual handover of the Shebaa
Farms to Lebanon, although UN cartographers confirmed when Israel pulled
out of Lebanon in May 2000 that the area had been captured from Syria
in the 1967 war. The Israeli Prime Minister, Ehud Olmert, is reported
to be flexible on the territorial dispute, provided Israel's other requirements
are met.
Margaret Beckett will fly
to the UN to press for "humanitarian corridors " to get food
and medical supplies to the shattered communities as a priority immediately
after the cessation of violence is agreed on the ground in the Lebanon.
The British efforts to establish
humanitarian aid convoys without the fear of being attacked by Israeli
jets may deflect some of the criticism against Tony Blair for agreeing
to a UN resolution which falls short of an immediate ceasefire.
Day 26
* In the deadliest day of the war for Israel, Hizbollah rockets kill
12 soldiers in the town of Kfar Giladi.
* Further Hizbollah rocket
attacks on Haifa kill three civilians and leave 150 people injured.
Several are trapped under rubble.
* Israel says troops will
remain in Lebanon until a foreign force arrives.
* Israeli army claims it
has captured a Hizbollah fighter who took part in the abduction of two
Israeli soldiers which triggered the conflict.
* At least 19 Lebanese civilians
and a soldier are killed by Israel's bombardment on the south of the
country. Israeli air strike hits a truck near a UN convoy, killing two
people.
* The conflict has killed
more than 800 people, mostly Lebanese civilians.
Israel suffered its worst
casualties in its 26-day war on Hizbollah while United Nations negotiations
for a ceasefire intensified.
A direct hit by a Katyusha
rocket killed 12 Israeli soldiers in the border kibbutz of Kfar Giladi
yesterday while a barrage of rockets aimed at Israel's third city, Haifa,
left three civilians dead and 150 wounded.
On the other side of the
border, 19 Lebanese civilians were killed by Israel's bombardment of
southern Lebanon. The heavy casualties reinforced Israel's insistence
that any UN ceasefire resolution must ensure that Hizbollah gunmen cannot
return to its northern border. Diplomats hope that foreign ministers
will vote in the next day or two on a United Nations resolution, despite
Lebanon rejecting the US-French draft because it failed to order an
immediate ceasefire and Israeli troops out of southern Lebanon.
But the US and Britain warned
that a UN resolution was only a "first step" towards ending
the violence, as Israel and Hizbollah militants used the window before
a vote to inflict maximum damage.
Condoleezza Rice, the US
Secretary of State, said: "We're trying to deal with a problem
that has been festering and brewing in Lebanon now for years and years
and years. And so it's not going to be solved by one resolution in the
Security Council. These things take a while to wind down."
The Kfar Giladi attack was
the worst in numbers of Israeli victims since the conflict began, and
also caused the highest single death toll of Israeli soldiers in the
same period. But Haifa was in chaos after Hizbollah launched its worst
attack on the city. Last night Israel claimed it had hit the Hizbollah
site that had launched the rocket attacks at the city.
The 12 reservists in Kfar
Giladi appeared to have been sitting and standing in the shade of a
cemetery wall for a briefing when a Katyusha rocket landed right by
them, incinerating two cars in the parking lot beside the wall.
As heavy smoke hung in the
air from brush fires ignited by other rockets in a withering 15-minute
barrage, which landed in the hills above the town of Kiryat Shmona,
the charred remains of the vehicles and other debris had been piled
high by the wall. Sponge mattresses, possibly from the men's packs,
were also piled in the parking lot.
A member of the Kfar Giladi
security committee said that, unlike local civilians, the victims had
not taken cover in shelters when sirens sounded.
"This shouldn't have
happened," he said. "We sounded the alert several minutes
before the rocket hit." An officer at the scene said that the explosion
had blasted shrapnel 30 metres away. The front of one of the destroyed
cars was compressed, suggesting the rocket might have landed directly
on it. There was also what looked like a small crater close to the wall.
Intensive diplomatic activity
was going on behind the scenes last night, as Tony Blair telephoned
President George Bush and the Russian leader, Vladimir Putin. He also
sought to contact Jacques Chirac, whose country is expected to lead
a multinational force in southern Lebanon that would be part of a longer-term
solution described in the draft plan.
"They discussed how they will get the resolution through,"
said a Downing Street aide. "We can't take anything for granted."
The draft text calls for
a "full cessation of hostilities". Whereas Hizbollah is expected
to observe an "immediate" ceasefire, Israel is instructed
to immediately halt "all offensive military operations". Israel
would therefore be allowed to hit back if Hizbollah did not refrain
from all attacks. The draft would allow Israeli troops to stay in southern
Lebanon until an international force was deployed there.
In Beirut, Hizbollah announced
it would agree to the ceasefire only after Israel stopped all attacks
and withdrew from Lebanese territory. Nabih Berri, the speaker of the
Lebanese parliament, who represents Hizbollah in negotiations, said
the draft resolution was unacceptable since it did not deal with Beirut's
key demands, including a release of prisoners held by Israel.
Fouad Siniora, Lebanon's
Prime Minister, said that his government would demand amendments to
the resolution.Israeli officials were reluctant to comment on the provisional
text, which was published on Saturday and which security council diplomats
continued to discuss yesterday, probably because it meets far more Israeli
demands than Lebanese.
The Israelis were less happy,
however, with a supervisory role assigned to Unifil, the UN Interim
Force in Lebanon, until a more robust international force was in place.
Israel has long complained that Unifil has failed to prevent Hizbollah
attacks. The draft also provides for an eventual handover of the Shebaa
Farms to Lebanon, although UN cartographers confirmed when Israel pulled
out of Lebanon in May 2000 that the area had been captured from Syria
in the 1967 war. The Israeli Prime Minister, Ehud Olmert, is reported
to be flexible on the territorial dispute, provided Israel's other requirements
are met.
Margaret Beckett will fly
to the UN to press for "humanitarian corridors " to get food
and medical supplies to the shattered communities as a priority immediately
after the cessation of violence is agreed on the ground in the Lebanon.
The British efforts to establish
humanitarian aid convoys without the fear of being attacked by Israeli
jets may deflect some of the criticism against Tony Blair for agreeing
to a UN resolution which falls short of an immediate ceasefire.
Day 26
* In the deadliest day of the war for Israel, Hizbollah rockets kill
12 soldiers in the town of Kfar Giladi.
* Further Hizbollah rocket
attacks on Haifa kill three civilians and leave 150 people injured.
Several are trapped under rubble.
* Israel says troops will
remain in Lebanon until a foreign force arrives.
* Israeli army claims it
has captured a Hizbollah fighter who took part in the abduction of two
Israeli soldiers which triggered the conflict.
* At least 19 Lebanese civilians
and a soldier are killed by Israel's bombardment on the south of the
country. Israeli air strike hits a truck near a UN convoy, killing two
people.
* The conflict has killed
more than 800 people, mostly Lebanese civilians.
© 2006 Independent News and Media Limited