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Annan to visit south Lebanon

By Gideon Long 38 minutes ago

BEIRUT (Reuters) - U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan will see the destruction in southern Lebanon at first hand on Tuesday when he visits the area during a Middle East tour designed to cement a truce between Israel and Hizbollah.

On the first stop of his tour, Annan issued a warning in Beirut on Monday that all sides must fully implement U.N. Security Council resolution 1701 or face a possible new war.

"Without the full implementation of resolution 1701 I fear the risk is great for a renewal of hostilities," Annan told a news conference.

Annan will travel on Tuesday to the town of Naqoura, home to a U.N. force in Lebanon due to be expanded from 2,000 troops to 15,000, and is expected to fly over an area that bore the brunt of Israeli air strikes and artillery shelling in the 34-day war.

Aides to Annan have said he will travel to Israel later in the day before heading to Syria and Iran, main backers of the Lebanese Hizbollah guerrillas, later in the week.

Annan has said he will call on Israel to lift its six-week-old sea and air blockade of Lebanon as part of his drive to secure implementation of the Security Council resolution that brought about the fragile truce on August 14.

"I am urging my Israeli interlocutors to lift immediately the blockade on Lebanon," Annan said after talks with the Lebanese government and politicians close to Hizbollah.

ANNAN HECKLED :o                  ;D

During a visit to war-battered areas of southern Beirut on Monday, Annan was heckled by scores of Hizbollah supporters. He was forced to cut short the visit and was driven away.

"He came after the war, after the destruction. Why is he here now?" said Ashraf Koukha, 25, one of the protesters.

At his news conference in Beirut, Annan urged Hizbollah to release the two Israeli soldiers whose capture in a cross-border raid by the guerrilla group on July 12 sparked the conflict.

Hizbollah wants to swap the two soldiers for Lebanese prisoners in Israeli jails through indirect negotiations.

Annan also said he would ask Syria this week to police its border with Lebanon to prevent arms smuggling to Hizbollah.

A Lebanese government source said Annan told the cabinet he would urge Syria to set up diplomatic ties with Lebanon for the first time in the history of the two neighbors.

The
United Nations is hoping to bolster peace in southern Lebanon through the deployment of the planned 15,000-strong force and 15,000 Lebanese troops who are being dispatched.

"The European countries are in the process of contributing nearly 9,000 troops and I am working with other countries to supplement this force," Annan said.

In New York, U.N. diplomats and officials said on Monday governments firmed up offers of troops, warships and tanks to the beefed-up U.N. force in southern Lebanon.

Italy, which agreed to send up to 3,000 troops, told U.N. officials it would initially send 2,496 soldiers, with the first of those able to arrive within 48 to 72 hours, they said.

The head of the Organization of the Islamic Conference, the world's largest Muslim body, said Muslim countries should match the European contribution.

Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu told Reuters in Beirut this would entail a pledge of around 7,000 troops.

Annan will arrive in Israel a day after Prime Minister Ehud Olmert announced a low-level inquiry into the Lebanon war.

Olmert, criticized at home for his handling of the war, rejected a proposal for a fuller, independent probe that could have led to high-level resignations in the government and military.

Israel is trying to secure the release of a third soldier, captured by militants in the Gaza Strip, as well as the two in Lebanon.

Israeli troops killed two Palestinian gunmen from the al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, an armed wing of President Mahmoud Abbas's Fatah faction, during a clash in Balata refugee camp in the occupied
West Bank on Tuesday, witnesses said.

More than 190 Palestinians, over half of them civilians, have been killed since Israel launched an offensive in June to free the soldier.

Annan to visit south Lebanon (http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060829/wl_nm/mideast_dc_343)

U.N. chief criticizes Israel, Hezbollah

By SAM F. GHATTAS, Associated Press Writer Mon Aug 28, 6:11 PM ET

BEIRUT, Lebanon - U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan faulted both Israel and Hezbollah on Monday for not living up to key sections of the cease-fire resolution, while two more countries took steps to provide troops for an expanded peacekeeping force to secure the truce.

Germany, meanwhile, hinted it was negotiating a prisoner swap.

Sitting beside Lebanese Prime Minister Fuad Saniora, Annan demanded Hezbollah return two captured Israeli soldiers, whose July 12 abduction touched off the 34-day war, and said Israel must lift its air and sea blockade of Lebanon.

Although Annan was critical of both sides, he also said the agreement provided a chance for a long-term peace. As the cease-fire held for the 15th day, neither side looked like it wanted to resume large-scale hostilities.

But the U.N. chief cautioned the road ahead would be long, and pledged the international community's support. As part of that support, Italy and Turkey moved to join the U.N. peacekeeping force in southern Lebanon.

Annan also said the U.N. force, which is to grow to 15,000 soldiers, will not try to disarm Hezbollah guerrillas.

"Down the line ... there will have to be disarmament, but it's up to the Lebanese government and people to resolve themselves," Annan said. "The (peacekeepers) are not going to go house to house searching for weapons. This is not their responsibility."

Annan was booed by residents as he toured the devastated Dahiyeh neighborhood in the Hezbollah stronghold of south Beirut. He was greeted by giant posters with photographs of Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah and one that had a caricature of Secretary of State
Condoleezza Rice with vampire's teeth and blood dripping from the mouth.

The U.N. chief, accompanied by Saniora and a Hezbollah legislator, walked for about 50 yards before the protest became noisy and unfriendly. Annan got back into a car, which drove slowly through the assembled residents with security men running alongside.

Geir Pedersen, Annan's personal representative, was pushed into another car in the motorcade by a bodyguard after some in the crowd mistook him for Jeffrey Feltman, the U.S. ambassador to Lebanon.

Earlier, Annan issued an unexpectedly blunt assessment of the cease-fire and its implementation by Israel and Hezbollah.

"It's a fixed menu. ... It's not an a la carte menu where you choose and pick," he said at the end of the first day of his 11-day Mideast swing that will include stops in Iran and Syria, the main backers of Hezbollah.

It was not known what Annan would discuss with the leaders of Syria and Iran, but it would be extremely difficult for Lebanon to disarm the Shiite guerrillas of Hezbollah without the agreement and participation of those two governments.

Israel responded quickly and negatively to Annan's call for an end to the blockade, which is intended to keep arms from being shipped to Hezbollah.

An official in the office of Prime Minister Ehud Olmert reiterated that the blockade will remain until the international force takes up positions along Lebanon's borders and entry points. He said Hezbollah continues to try to smuggle weapons into the country.

"Once the international forces are fully in place and they're able to prevent the smuggling of weapons to Hezbollah, there will be no need for the air and naval blockade," said the official, David Baker.

Although aimed at Hezbollah arms shipments, the blockade also is hindering shipments of food, fuel and other goods to Lebanon.

Annan has said the Lebanese army could handle policing the Syrian border on its own and it would be unprecedented for a peacekeeping force to be deployed along a border shared by countries that have not been at war. Syrian President Bashar Assad has said the deployment of international troops would be considered a "hostile" act.

In Israel, Olmert announced an inquiry into the war, hoping to dispel criticism among Israelis that the army and government bungled the campaign. But he ignored demands for an independent probe with the authority to dismiss top officials.

His decision was likely to enrage critics who say Olmert and other top officials should be the focus of the investigation, not overseeing it.

Israel has said a resolution of the conflict must include the release of the two soldiers captured by Hezbollah militants in a cross-border raid that triggered the conflict last month.

Israel's foreign minister, Tzipi Livni, said that unless the issue of the two soldiers was resolved, "the whole thing is of little significance."

"Our sovereignty has been infringed and if this resolution does not make that good, then we still have this problem," she said in Germany.

Livni's talks in Germany included discussion of efforts to get the soldiers released, German Deputy Foreign Minister Gernot Erler said. Germany has mediated past prisoner exchanges between Hezbollah and Israel.

"It is well known that Germany has possibilities ... to help free these captured and kidnapped Israeli soldiers," Erler said.

Annan said in Beirut that as a first step, the captured soldiers could be transferred with Red Cross involvement to the government of Lebanon or a third party, and offered U.N. assistance if required.

Meanwhile, Italy's Cabinet approved sending 2,500 soldiers to the peacekeeping mission, and the government approved a $38.4 million aid package for Lebanon.

"In the coming hours we will initiate the complex logistics for the deployment of the Italian forces in the region," Foreign Minister Massimo D'Alema said.

Earlier, the Italian Defense Ministry said a naval task force was already being assembled to move about 1,900 soldiers to Lebanon. They were to include marines and engineering specialists and be off the Lebanese coast by Friday.

Turkey, the only Muslim member of NATO and a country with close ties to both Israel and Arab states, took a step closer toward joining the peacekeeping force. Turkey has not said how many troops it could send, but the presence of Muslim soldiers in the force is regarded as crucial to gaining its acceptance in Lebanon.

Turkey's Cabinet called Monday for sending troops to Lebanon and said parliament would be convened soon to vote on the measure.

But in Lebanon, the spiritual leader of the Armenian Diaspora, Catholicos Aram I, released a statement calling Turkish participation in a peacekeeping mission "morally unacceptable." Armenians want modern Turkey to recognize atrocities committed by its Ottoman predecessors. The Armenians estimate they lost 1.5 million people in massacres or forced marches in Word War I.

U.N. chief criticizes Israel, Hezbollah (http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060828/ap_on_re_mi_ea/mideast)

Olmert hopes for "eternal covenant" with Arabs
 (http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1150886027611&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull)

(http://www.fulfilledprophecy.com/olmert_covenant_of_peace.jpeg)

Blair, Annan: Deploy international force (http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1150886023420&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull)

Europe Offers 'Backbone' of Peacekeepers (http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory?id=2358926)

Whats your views on this?...

Keep your eyes open for Javier Solana who's head of the "Western" EU, and developed the rapid deployment strike force for them. He's also a very "gifted" negotiator, and reasonably well liked by both sides...Arab and Israeli.  He's a natural to bring about a "miracle" delivery of Israel, talking the Arabs into backing off, plus he is in factual command of a growingly potent military force.

I have been listening to the news, Javier Solana is one person to keep your eyes on in my opinion, as well brother.

U.N. to mediate Israel-Hezbollah dispute

By DONNA ABU-NASR, Associated Press Writer Mon Sep 4, 3:43 PM ET

JIDDAH, Saudi Arabia - U.N. chief Kofi Annan said Monday he would appoint a mediator for indirect talks between Israel and Hezbollah on the release of two abducted Israeli soldiers, the first public word of negotiations between the bitter enemies since fighting in Lebanon ended.

The announcement raised the possibility of a prisoner swap to win the soldiers' release, an exchange which Israel has repeatedly rejected, at least in public. Until now, Israel had insisted that it would not hold any contacts with Hezbollah, but its government has been under increasing domestic pressure to bring the two home.

The agreement on the mediation effort could mark a breakthrough on an issue that is crucial to preserving the fragile 3-week-old cease-fire that ended 34 days of Israel-Hezbollah fighting. Israel mounted its offensive in Lebanon after the Shiite guerrillas seized the two soldiers and killed three others in a cross-border raid July 12.

The U.N. cease-fire resolution that ended the fighting on Aug. 14 urges the unconditional release of the two soldiers. Hezbollah has said it would free them only in a swap for Arab prisoners held by Israel.

"Both sides have accepted the good offices of the secretary-general to help resolve this problem," Annan told a news conference in Saudi Arabia's Red Sea port of Jiddah. "I will designate someone to work discreetly and quietly with them to find a solution."

"The only thing that I insisted on is that if I'm going to use my good offices, then my mediator should be the only mediator," he said. "There must be one mediator and effective channel of communication." Annan said he would not announce the mediator's name to allow him to work quietly.

Annan did not say whether a prisoner swap was on the agenda for the mediation effort, and Israel on Monday repeated its stance demanding an unconditional release of the soldiers.

Asked about the mediation effort, Foreign Ministry spokesman Mark Regev said that during Annan's visit to Israel last week, "we urged him to bring about the full implementation of U.N. Security Council resolution 1701, which calls for the immediate and unconditional release of the hostages. "

There was no immediate comment from Hezbollah officials.

Hezbollah has not said how many Arab prisoners it is seeking in any swap. Israel was holding four Lebanese before the conflict began and reported capturing several dozen Hezbollah members during the fighting. Israel and the guerrillas have had prisoner swaps in the past, the latest in 2004.

American civil rights leader Jesse Jackson met with Hezbollah officials in Lebanon on Monday and asked them to show proof that the two Israeli soldiers are still alive, saying such a move could give a boost to negotiations. Jackson, who has been in the region for the past 10 days, said the continued detention of the soldiers is "becoming a magnet to attract a second round" of war.

Annan announced the mediation effort after talks with Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah in Jiddah, the latest stop in the U.N. chief's 11-day tour of the Middle East aimed at getting all sides to implement and support the U.N. cease-fire resolution.

The resolution also calls for a 15,000-member U.N. peacekeeping force to deploy in southern Lebanon to keep Hezbollah weapons away from the border with Israel.

Qatar on Monday became the first Arab nation to announce it will contribute to the force, pledging 200 to 300 soldiers. Pakistan's prime minister toured devastated south Beirut and considered a similar offer.

An Israeli spokesman said his country had no objections to Qatari troops. Qatar — like most other Arab states — does not recognize Israel, but the two countries have low-level trade ties.

The U.S., Europe and Israel have been eager to have Muslim forces among the peacekeepers, but Muslim states fear they could be perceived as opposing Hezbollah, which gained considerable clout in the region for its fierce resistance to the Israeli army.

Qatar's troop offer came on the same day that the country's national air carrier, Qatar Airways, landed a commercial flight at Beirut airport, carrying 142 passengers, despite Israel's blockade of Lebanon — the first of what the carrier said would be daily commercial flights.

An Israeli army spokesman said the flight was coordinated with Israel and was the fourth Qatari flight to land with Israeli permission in Beirut since Friday — an apparent reference to aid flights since this was the first known regularly scheduled commercial flight from Qatar.

But officials from the carrier and the Lebanese authorities insisted that the plane had flown without Israeli clearance.

On Saturday, Lebanon's parliament speaker, Nabih Berri, called on Arab nations to send flights to break the blockade, which Lebanon has said is hampering its reconstruction efforts. Israel has refused international pressure to lift the blockade until it is guaranteed that weapons shipments to Hezbollah are halted.

Qatari Foreign Minister Sheik Hamad bin Jassim Al Thani said his country's troop contribution to the international force was an attempt by the tiny Persian Gulf nation "to tell the world of the Arab presence, even modestly, in this force and to tell Israel that we believe in this decision and so we want to contribute in implementing it."

Pakistani Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz — leader of another key Muslim country — was considering a similar pledge as he toured the Dahiyah district of south Beirut, a Hezbollah stronghold that was pounded to rubble by Israeli missiles during the war.

"If it helps the settlement of peace, Pakistan may consider contributing troops to Lebanon, but such a decision has not been made yet," the Anatolia news agency in Turkey quoted Aziz as saying.

Under the cease-fire plan, 15,000 Lebanese soldiers have begun deploying to assert control over the Hezbollah stronghold south of the Litani River. They have been moving into areas that Israeli troops have left.

French Gen. Alain Pellegrini, who commands the U.N. force, met with senior Israeli and Lebanese officers at a border crossing Monday to coordinate Israel's pullout.

"I think we are on the right track in securing the full withdrawal of the Israeli army from Lebanon and finally ensuring that the Lebanese army will take control of the whole border area in the south," Pellegrini said in a statement.

Israeli security officials say they expect their army to be out of Lebanese territory within the next two weeks. By that time, they expect sufficient U.N. forces will have arrived in south Lebanon to enforce the truce.

More than 870 Italian soldiers reached Lebanon by Monday, with the remainder of a 1,000-strong Italian contingent arriving in the next few days. They bring the total number of U.N. forces in Lebanon to 3,250 — more than one-fifth of the target.

U.N. to mediate Israel-Hezbollah dispute (http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060904/ap_on_re_mi_ea/mideast_11)

Annan to Appoint Mediator to Broker Israeli Soldier Talks

Monday , September 04, 2006

JIDDAH, Saudi Arabia  — U.N. chief Kofi Annan said Monday he would appoint a mediator for indirect talks between Israel and Hezbollah on the release of two abducted Israeli soldiers, the first public word of negotiations between the bitter enemies since fighting in Lebanon ended.

The announcement raised the possibility of a prisoner swap to win the soldiers' release, an exchange which Israel has repeatedly rejected, at least in public. Until now, Israel had insisted that it would not hold any contacts with Hezbollah, but its government has been under increasing domestic pressure to bring the two home.

The agreement on the mediation effort could mark a breakthrough on an issue that is crucial to preserving the fragile 3-week-old cease-fire that ended 34 days of Israel-Hezbollah fighting. Israel mounted its offensive in Lebanon after the Shiite guerrillas seized the two soldiers and killed three others in a cross-border raid July 12.

Click here to view FOXNews.com's Mideast coverage.

The U.N. cease-fire resolution that ended the fighting on Aug. 14 urges the unconditional release of the two soldiers. Hezbollah has said it would free them only in a swap for Arab prisoners held by Israel.

"Both sides have accepted the good offices of the secretary-general to help resolve this problem," Annan told a news conference in Saudi Arabia's Red Sea port of Jiddah. "I will designate someone to work discreetly and quietly with them to find a solution."

"The only thing that I insisted on is that if I'm going to use my good offices, then my mediator should be the only mediator," he said. "There must be one mediator and effective channel of communication." Annan said he would not announce the mediator's name to allow him to work quietly.

Annan did not say whether a prisoner swap was on the agenda for the mediation effort, and Israel on Monday repeated its stance demanding an unconditional release of the soldiers.

Asked about the mediation effort, Foreign Ministry spokesman Mark Regev said that during Annan's visit to Israel last week, "we urged him to bring about the full implementation of U.N. Security Council resolution 1701, which calls for the immediate and unconditional release of the hostages. "

There was no immediate comment from Hezbollah officials.

Hezbollah has not said how many Arab prisoners it is seeking in any swap. Israel was holding four Lebanese before the conflict began and reported capturing several dozen Hezbollah members during the fighting. Israel and the guerrillas have had prisoner swaps in the past, the latest in 2004.

American civil rights leader Jesse Jackson met with Hezbollah officials in Lebanon on Monday and asked them to show proof that the two Israeli soldiers are still alive, saying such a move could give a boost to negotiations. Jackson, who has been in the region for the past 10 days, said the continued detention of the soldiers is "becoming a magnet to attract a second round" of war.

Annan announced the mediation effort after talks with Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah in Jiddah, the latest stop in the U.N. chief's 11-day tour of the Middle East aimed at getting all sides to implement and support the U.N. cease-fire resolution.

The resolution also calls for a 15,000-member U.N. peacekeeping force to deploy in southern Lebanon to keep Hezbollah weapons away from the border with Israel.

Qatar on Monday became the first Arab nation to announce it will contribute to the force, pledging 200 to 300 soldiers. Pakistan's prime minister toured devastated south Beirut and considered a similar offer.

An Israeli spokesman said his country had no objections to Qatari troops. Qatar — like most other Arab states — does not recognize Israel, but the two countries have low-level trade ties.

The U.S., Europe and Israel have been eager to have Muslim forces among the peacekeepers, but Muslim states fear they could be perceived as opposing Hezbollah, which gained considerable clout in the region for its fierce resistance to the Israeli army.

Qatar's troop offer came on the same day that the country's national air carrier, Qatar Airways, landed a commercial flight at Beirut airport, carrying 142 passengers, despite Israel's blockade of Lebanon — the first of what the carrier said would be daily commercial flights.

An Israeli army spokesman said the flight was coordinated with Israel and was the fourth Qatari flight to land with Israeli permission in Beirut since Friday — an apparent reference to aid flights since this was the first known regularly scheduled commercial flight from Qatar.

But officials from the carrier and the Lebanese authorities insisted that the plane had flown without Israeli clearance.

On Saturday, Lebanon's parliament speaker, Nabih Berri, called on Arab nations to send flights to break the blockade, which Lebanon has said is hampering its reconstruction efforts. Israel has refused international pressure to lift the blockade until it is guaranteed that weapons shipments to Hezbollah are halted.

Qatari Foreign Minister Sheik Hamad bin Jassim Al Thani said his country's troop contribution to the international force was an attempt by the tiny Persian Gulf nation "to tell the world of the Arab presence, even modestly, in this force and to tell Israel that we believe in this decision and so we want to contribute in implementing it."

Pakistani Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz — leader of another key Muslim country — was considering a similar pledge as he toured the Dahiyah district of south Beirut, a Hezbollah stronghold that was pounded to rubble by Israeli missiles during the war.

"If it helps the settlement of peace, Pakistan may consider contributing troops to Lebanon, but such a decision has not been made yet," the Anatolia news agency in Turkey quoted Aziz as saying.

Under the cease-fire plan, 15,000 Lebanese soldiers have begun deploying to assert control over the Hezbollah stronghold south of the Litani River. They have been moving into areas that Israeli troops have left.

French Gen. Alain Pellegrini, who commands the U.N. force, met with senior Israeli and Lebanese officers at a border crossing Monday to coordinate Israel's pullout.

"I think we are on the right track in securing the full withdrawal of the Israeli army from Lebanon and finally ensuring that the Lebanese army will take control of the whole border area in the south," Pellegrini said in a statement.

Israeli security officials say they expect their army to be out of Lebanese territory within the next two weeks. By that time, they expect sufficient U.N. forces will have arrived in south Lebanon to enforce the truce.

More than 870 Italian soldiers reached Lebanon by Monday, with the remainder of a 1,000-strong Italian contingent arriving in the next few days. They bring the total number of U.N. forces in Lebanon to 3,250 — more than one-fifth of the target.

Annan to Appoint Mediator to Broker Israeli Soldier Talks (http://www.foxnews.com/printer_friendly_story/0,3566,212057,00.html)
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Javier Solana??