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Progress toward peace?

U.S., France agree on proposal to set arms embargo on Lebanon, disable militant force and settle land dispute

BY MOHAMAD BAZZI | Newsday Middle East Correspondent

August 6, 2006

BEIRUT, Lebanon - After 25 days of war, there is a first sign of a potential cease-fire: The United States and France agreed yesterday on a draft United Nations resolution to end fighting between Hezbollah and Israel.

A resolution could be approved within days at the UN Security Council. But that doesn't mean Israel and Hezbollah will accept the terms. A Hezbollah minister in the Lebanese government said the militia would accept a cease-fire only if all Israeli troops withdraw from south Lebanon. In the past week, thousands of Israeli troops and hundreds of tanks have invaded the country in an effort to prevent Hezbollah from firing rockets into northern Israel.

"We will abide by it on condition that no Israeli soldier remains inside Lebanese land," said Mohammed Fneish, the energy minister and one of two Hezbollah representatives in the government. "If they stay, we will not abide by it."

And Israeli leaders have said they want to keep bombing Lebanon for another two weeks to diminish Hezbollah's military capability - even though there is little sign the group has been seriously weakened by nearly four weeks of intense bombardment.

The draft resolution calls for a "full cessation of hostilities" by both sides, but it would allow Israel to defend itself if attacked. The United States had resisted a resolution calling for an immediate cease-fire without also deploying an international force in south Lebanon. But as casualties mounted, Washington came under pressure to accept a two-stage solution.

Sweeping approach

The UN measure calls for disarming Hezbollah, creating a buffer zone from the border up to 18 miles inside Lebanon where the Lebanese army and an international force would be deployed, resolving a dispute between Israel and Lebanon over an area called Shebaa Farms and imposing an arms embargo that would allow only the Lebanese government to bring weapons into the country. That ban is meant to cut off the supply of missiles and other weapons to Hezbollah from Iran and Syria.

Diplomats say the resolution also would call for the current UN peacekeeping force in Lebanon to monitor the cease-fire. After Israel and Lebanon agree on other steps, the Security Council would adopt another resolution for a larger and better-armed force for south Lebanon.

After Hezbollah abducted two Israeli soldiers in a cross-border raid on July 12, Israel launched its most intense attack since it invaded Lebanon in 1982.

For the first time since war broke out, Hezbollah's leader on Thursday offered to stop firing rockets at northern Israel if Israeli forces halted their attacks on Lebanon. "At any time you decide to stop your attacks on our towns, cities, civilians and infrastructure, we will not fire rockets on any settlement or Israeli city," Sayyid Hassan Nasrallah said in a televised speech.

Lebanese leaders saw it as a sign that Nasrallah is ready to accept a cease-fire, but Israeli officials have said they intend to keep their troops in south Lebanon until an international force is deployed. That could scuttle a broad cease-fire, or it could mean Hezbollah and Israeli forces would confine their fighting to the south.

Disarming Hezbollah

Already, some Lebanese officials are bracing for the next fight: Once there is a cease-fire, the government will have to disarm Hezbollah, which has been emboldened by the war. One official said Hezbollah ministers have agreed that the group would disarm once Israel meets conditions set by the Lebanese government. Those include an Israeli withdrawal from Shebaa Farms, an exchange of Lebanese prisoners in Israeli custody for the two abducted soldiers, a map of all land mines placed by Israel in south Lebanon during its 18-year occupation and reparations for the current war.

"There is an implicit recognition by all cabinet members that once the national requirements are obtained, there is no reason for Hezbollah to carry on with an armed resistance," said Sami Haddad, Lebanese minister of economy and trade.

But Israel is unlikely to accept the Lebanese terms, especially a prisoner exchange and reparations. That could leave Lebanese officials searching for other face-saving solutions, such as absorbing Hezbollah fighters into the Lebanese military.

Another idea is to create a national guard made up of Hezbollah guerrillas whose job would be to defend Lebanon's borders, according to Mohammad Kabbani, a member of parliament who is allied with Prime Minister Fuad Saniora.

Kabbani said while the future of Hezbollah's armed wing is unclear, there is general agreement that the group must be disarmed. "No one knows where we will end up, but I'm sure that things cannot stay the way they used to be," he said. "This issue cannot be solved now. Not when there's blood and destruction all around us. The first step is to have a cease-fire."

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U.S., France agree on proposal to set arms embargo on Lebanon, disable militant force and settle land dispute

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