The clashes followed one of the bloodiest days of the four-week-long
conflict. At least three Israeli soldiers and 49 Lebanese died Monday -
including 10 in a rocket attack in a Beirut suburb just hours after Arab League
foreign ministers wrapped up a crisis meeting that threw its full diplomatic
weight behind Lebanon.
The group set a baseline demand for the Security Council: a full Israeli
withdrawal or no peace deal is possible. The message was given in a tearful
address by Lebanon's prime minister, Fuad Saniora, and carried to the United
Nations by Arab League envoys.
Saniora's government voted unanimously to send 15,000 troops to stand between
Israel and Hezbollah should a cease-fire take hold and Israeli forces withdraw.
The move was an attempt to show that Lebanon has the will and ability to
assert control over its south, where Hezbollah rules with near autonomy
bolstered by channels of aid and weapons from Iran and Syria. Lebanon has
avoided any attempt to implement a 2-year-old U.N. resolution calling for the
disarmament of Hezbollah, fearing it could touch off widespread unrest.
But now the prospect of a protracted war with Israel is even more worrisome.
The coming days should offer signs on whether a cease-fire plan has a chance.
The original proposal, drafted by the United States and France, demanded a
"full cessation of hostilities" on both sides and a buffer zone in southern
Lebanon patrolled by Lebanese forces and U.N. troops. But the plan did not
specifically call for a withdrawal. Critics said it would give room for Israeli
defensive operations.
France's U.N. ambassador, Jean-Marc de La Sabliere, promised Monday to take
into account Lebanon's stance. But he did not say whether France was prepared to
add such language to the text.
Washington and Paris were expected to circulate a new draft in response to
amendments proposed by Qatar, the only Arab nation on the 15-nation Security
Council, and other members, diplomats said. A vote is not expected before
Wednesday at the earliest.
The proposed changes include a call for Israeli forces to pull out of Lebanon
once the fighting stops and hand over their positions to U.N. peacekeepers. Arab
states also want the U.N. to take control of the disputed Chebaa Farms area,
which Israel seized in 1967.
Qatar's foreign minister, Hamad bin Jassem Al Thani, warned of "a civil war
in Lebanon" between Hezbollah and government forces if the Security Council does
not make changes to the U.S.-French draft resolution. "This is what we don't
want to happen and Lebanon won't bear it," he said, speaking on the Al-Jazeera
network.
In Texas, President Bush said Monday that any cease-fire must prevent
Hezbollah from strengthening its grip in southern Lebanon, asserting "it's time
to address root causes of problems." He urged the United Nations to work quickly
to approve the U.S.-French draft resolution.
Israel, meanwhile, sent mixed signals.
Olmert said the government was studying Lebanon's pledge to contribute troops
to a potential peacekeeping force.
But hours earlier, Defense Minister Amir Peretz outlined plans to drive
deeper into Lebanon to try to destroy Hezbollah rocket batteries - which
have kept up a near relentless barrage on northern Israel and forced people in
some areas to only venture out of bomb shelters for supplies.
Peretz said a new Israeli push - expected to be approved by Israel's
Security Cabinet on Wednesday - would extend as far as the Litani River,
about 18 miles north of the border.
The Israeli army said it declared an indefinite curfew on the movement of
vehicles south of the Litani. Humanitarian traffic would be allowed, but other
vehicles would be at risk if they ignored the order, the army said.
Besides Hezbollah's rocket arsenal, Israel also is facing new threats.
On Monday, the Israeli air force shot down a Hezbollah drone for the first
time, sending its wreckage plunging into the sea, the army said. Israeli media
reported that the unmanned aircraft had the capacity to carry 90 pounds of
explosives, nearly as much as the more powerful rockets Hezbollah has been
firing into Israel.
Unlike the rockets, the drone has a guidance system to for accurate
targeting.
