Israel, Hezbollah Expected To Stop Fighting Monday
Ryan R. Jones - All Headline News Correspondent Jerusalem, Israel (AHN) - UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan expects Israel and Hezbollah to cease all hostilities by Monday in accordance with Security Council Resolution 1701, and says both Jerusalem and Beirut have signed on to that timetable. Said Annan in an official statement carried by the AP, "I am very happy to announce (Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Lebanese Prime Minister Fuad Siniora) have agreed that the cessation of hostilities and the end of the fighting will enter into force on 14 August at 0500 hours GMT." But, while Hezbollah has announced its readiness to abide by the decisions of the Siniora government, the terror group insists on its right to continue attacking Israel so long as Israeli forces are deployed in southern Lebanon. Israel says it will not remove the soldiers until a new multi-national force is ready to fill the vacuum, which UN sources estimate will take 7-10 days. Australian Prime Minister John Howard said the failure of 1701 to explicitly demand the disarmament of Hezbollah as a condition for peace makes its successful implementation doubtful. Howard told reporters that while the ceasefire resolution "looks good on the surface...I am, myself, a little discomforted by the lack of specificities and the language regarding the disarming of Hezbollah. Unless there's a clear determination and a clear authority to disarm Hezbollah this isn |
