Hizbollah demands halt to "aggression"

BEIRUT (Reuters) - Hizbollah pledged on Saturday to deny the United States and Israel any political gains from the war in Lebanon as U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice arrived in Jerusalem to discuss ways to end the 18-day-old war.

Israel rejected as unnecessary a United Nations plea for a truce to aid civilians trapped by fighting.

Hours later, an Israeli air strike killed a woman and six children in a house in the southern village of Nmeiriya, medics said. At least 469 people, mostly civilians, have been killed in Lebanon in the conflict, and 51 Israelis have died.

In an interview with Reuters, Hizbollah's deputy chief Naim Kassem demanded an immediate halt to "Israeli aggression."

Asked how Hizbollah viewed U.S. demands for its guerrillas to disarm and make way for an international force in south Lebanon, Kassem said: "America and Israel have no right to get a result from their defeat. There is no (military) victory for America and Israel for them to make political gains."

Pressed on possible deployment of such a force, he said Hizbollah had decided not to talk about this in public.

President George W. Bush said the conflict in Lebanon was part of the wider struggle against terrorism and any strategy to end the violence must address the threat posed by Hizbollah.

"As we work to resolve this current crisis, we must recognize that Lebanon is the latest flashpoint in a broader struggle between freedom and terror that is unfolding across the region," he said in his weekly radio address.

Rice was due to meet Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert to discuss the outlines of a U.N. Security Council resolution.

"She will be able to tell us exactly what kind of international force has to be sent here and what kind of resolution has to be passed by the United Nations," Israeli government spokesman Avi Pazner said.

Rice, who will meet Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora later in her Middle East mission, said she expected her talks to be tough. "There has to be give and take," she added.

In a softening of Israel's position, a senior Foreign Ministry official said Israel would not demand the immediate disarming of Hizbollah as part of a deal to end the fighting.

The official said Israel would demand that the proposed peacekeeping force in south Lebanon keep Hizbollah away from the Israeli border and prevent the group from replenishing its stockpile of rockets from Syria and Iran.

"But disarming Hizbollah now is not what Israel is demanding," the official said, adding that disarming the group would not be part of the peacekeeping force's mission.

TRUCE REJECTED

Israel dismissed a proposal by U.N. Emergency Relief Coordinator Jan Egeland for a truce to let relief workers reach stricken civilians and deliver emergency aid.

"There is no need for a 72-hour temporary ceasefire because Israel has opened a humanitarian corridor to and from Lebanon," Pazner said, drawing a swift rebuke from France.

While Israel has let aid shipments through its blockade of Lebanon, international relief agencies say they have been unable to get Israel to guarantee safe passage to civilians in southern areas hardest hit by Israeli bombing aimed at Hizbollah.

France, which has repeatedly called for an immediate ceasefire, said it "deeply regrets" Israel's rejection of Egeland's idea and would press Israel to change its mind.

Hizbollah's Kassem reiterated the group's demand for a halt to Israel's onslaught on Lebanon, begun after guerrillas captured two Israeli soldiers in a cross-border raid on July 12.

"We demand it is ended unconditionally and that all the displaced people return to their villages and towns," he said in written answers to questions.

Washington has pledged $30 million (16 million pounds) to help Lebanon but America's attitude to the war has angered many Lebanese.

"They send the Israelis smart bombs and they send us blankets. If it was up to me, I wouldn't let this ship dock here. I would dump this stuff in the sea," said a Lebanese soldier watching U.S. relief goods being unloaded in Beirut.

A U.S. military catamaran had brought blankets, tarpaulins and medical kits for some of the 800,000 war-displaced people.

U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan has invited countries willing to join an international force in Lebanon to meet in New York on Monday to begin planning, even though its mandate has yet to be set by the Security Council.

Major powers say the force cannot deploy before a ceasefire or operate without the consent of Lebanon, Israel and Hizbollah.

Bush has blamed Hizbollah and its main allies Syria and Iran for the conflict in Lebanon. The Shi'ite group says it is fighting a U.S.-Israeli plan for hegemony in the Middle East.

Lebanon's Siniora argues that the main problems include Israel's occupation of the disputed Shebaa Farms area, claimed by Lebanon, and its detention of Lebanese prisoners.

The Lebanon war has overshadowed the conflict in the Gaza Strip, where Israel is waging a month-old offensive to recover a soldier captured by militants and halt Palestinian rocket fire.

Israeli aircraft bombed a suspected Hamas arms factory and border tunnel in the Gaza Strip on Saturday. Troops entered a northern area to look for explosives and tunnels, the army said.

At least 150 Palestinians, around half of them gunmen, have been killed in the offensive.

Source

About headlines and content that has changed after it was added to this site - see disclaimer here

FAIR USE NOTICE

This site contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of environmental, political, human rights, economic, democracy, scientific, and social justice issues, etc. We believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use', you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.