56 dead in Israeli Sunday attack
(AP)
Updated: 2006-07-30 20:57
France circulated a draft Security Council resolution on Saturday among the
other 14 council members. It would call for an immediate halt to fighting
between Israel and Hezbollah and seek a wide new buffer zone in south Lebanon
monitored by international forces and the Lebanese army.
A demonstrator shouts slogans during a protest
outside the Israeli embassy in Madrid July 30, 2006 urging the government
of Israel to stop attacks on Lebanon. [Reuters] |
British Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett said strike on Qana was a "tragedy
for the people affected," especially so since negotiators had been close to
reaching "the basis for a cease-fire."
She said the U.N. resolution was no longer on track to being reached by
Monday or Tuesday. "We need to go back and pick up the pieces," Beckett told Sky
News.
But she stopped short of calling for a cease-fire. "We have repeatedly called
on the Israelis to act proportionately," Beckett said.
A peace package Rice brought to the region called for a U.N.-mandated
multinational force that can help stabilize in the region, according to a U.S.
official speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitive nature of
the discussions.
It also proposes: disarming Hezbollah and integrating the guerrilla force
into the Lebanese army; Hezbollah's return of Israeli prisoners; a buffer zone
in southern Lebanon to put Hezbollah rockets out of range of Israel; a
commitment to resolve the status of a piece of land held by Israel and claimed
by Lebanon; and the creation of an international reconstruction plan for
Lebanon.
The latter two provisions resembled parts of a proposal by Lebanon's
government. But they fell short of Hezbollah's demands, including a prisoner
swap to free Lebanese held for years in Israeli prisons and the disputed land,
known as Chebaa farms, put under U.N. supervision until its status can be
resolved.
|
