Lebanon: the world looks on

· EU criticism of Israel removed
· Statement diluted following British pressure
· Death toll passes 200

Ewen MacAskill and Rory McCarthy in Nahariya, and Patrick Wintour in
St Petersburg
Tuesday July 18, 2006
The Guardian

Western leaders remained paralysed yesterday as Lebanon suffered one
of its bloodiest days since Israel began its bombardment a week ago.

For the second time in 48 hours western governments declined to
intervene as Israeli forces, on the sixth day of aerial attacks,
killed 47 people and wounded at least 53. Hizbullah, the Iranian-backed
militia, also stepped up its attacks, launching 50 rockets against
Israel, the highest number in a single day. The death toll since
Israel began its attack has risen to 210 in Lebanon and 29 in Israel.

Ehud Olmert, the Israeli prime minister, dismissed hopes of a quick
resolution to the conflict last night, vowing his military would
continue operating at full intensity. He said Israel would not stop
until two of its captured soldiers were freed, the Lebanese army
deployed to protect Israel’s northern border and Hizbullah forced
to disarm.

He said both Hizbollah and Hamas, the Palestinian group, were working
with the support of "the axis of evil that stretches from Tehran to
Damascus. When missiles rain on our cities, our response will be to
wage war with greater determination, courage and sacrifice," he said.

"We don’t seek war or head-on confrontation but if necessary we shall
not flinch from them."

After the failure of the G8 meeting in St Petersburg at the weekend
to step in, EU foreign ministers meeting in Brussels yesterday also
settled for a bland joint statement that exposed divisions between
European governments.

EU foreign ministers called on Israel not to resort to
"disproportionate action" but criticism of Israel in an original
draft was diluted after pressure from Britain and Germany, Israel’s
closest EU allies.

In southern Lebanon, an Israeli strike yesterday afternoon on a
bridge in the port city of Sidon left 10 civilians dead, including
two children. Three Israeli tanks briefly crossed into Lebanon and
Israeli Army Radio, quoting a senior officer, said Israel would
enforce a half-mile "free-fire" zone to bar Hizbullah from the border.

For the second straight day, Hizbullah rockets landed in the
coastal city of Haifa where officials closed the port. A rocket
hit and demolished part of a house, leaving two people injured,
one seriously. Other rockets reached even further south into Israel,
as far as the town of Afula, just above the West Bank.

The British government airlifted 41 Britons stranded in Lebanon
and promised to evacuate others by sea if necessary. The US sent an
aircraft carrier in preparation for an evacuation of thousands of
its 25,000 citizens in Lebanon.

The US and Britain insisted on Sunday at the G8 summit in St Petersburg
that criticism of Israel be removed from a joint communique. Both
appear ready to allow Israel a further few days in which to target
Hizbullah, after which there will be a ceasefire.

A Foreign Office source said: "Everyone is grappling with this but
no one is entirely sure how to deal with it."

John Bolton, the US ambassador to the UN, insisted that the UN security
council should delay any action until the UN envoy now in the Middle
East, Vijay Nambiar, returns this week to New York. Mr Nambiar said:
"We hope that we will be able to see our way toward …

a de-escalation of the crisis."

Tony Blair and Kofi Annan, the UN secretary general, called yesterday
for the 2,000-strong UN observer force on the Israel-Lebanon border
to be expanded. Mr Blair said: "The only way we’re going to get
a cessation of hostilities is if we have the deployment of an
international force into that area, that can stop the bombardment
over into Israel, and therefore give Israel a reason to stop its
attacks on Hizbullah." But the US is lukewarm and Israel described
the proposal as premature.

The French prime minister, Dominique de Villepin, flew to Beirut,
the highest-level international presence since the crisis began. He
called on Israel and Hizbollah to implement an immediate ceasefire
on humanitarian grounds and for the release of the Israeli soldiers.

The Iranian foreign minister, Manoucher Mottaki, said yesterday that
end to the fighting and an exchange of hostages would be acceptable
and fair. Iran is the main backer of Hizbullah, which is holding
the two Israeli soldiers prisoner. After meeting Syrian officials in
Damascus, he said: "A reasonable and just solution must be found to
end this crisis. A ceasefire and then a swap is achievable."

Exasperation with the international response was expressed last night
by Fouad Siniora, the Lebanese prime minister. In an interview with
Channel 4 News he said: "Until now I am very disappointed, but I can
tell you there is still time to make a real decision in the UN. Stop
this massacre that is happening in Lebanon because the more they
inflict casualties the worse it becomes."

In the wind-up of the St Petersburg summit, Mr Bush and Mr Blair blamed
Iran and Syria for encouraging Hizbullah. In a private conversation
picked up by a microphone, the two men singled out Bashir Assad, the
Syrian president, as the figure stoking violence in the Palestinian
territories and Iraq as well as in Lebanon. They claimed that Mr
Assad was trying to destabilise the region and block the introduction
of democracy.

Parts of the conversation were almost inaudible but a senior British
diplomat confirmed that the two leaders had identified Mr Assad as
the prime culprit and described him sarcastically as a real sweetie
and honey.

–Boundary_(ID_o54eo8rnFKkbT9bI3LrBRg)–

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress