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Israel set to accept ceasefire
Top general protests 'stopwatch'

SPECIAL TO WORLD TRIBUNE.COM
Monday, July 17, 2006

JERUSALEM — Israel's government is preparing for an imminent ceasefire with Hizbullah.

Officials said Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has been examining a U.S. proposal to implement a ceasefire over the next few days. They said the ceasefire proposal, via European allies, has been relayed to Iran, Lebanon and Syria.

"The government has agreed in principle to a ceasefire," an official said. "The details and timing will probably be completed over the next 48 hours."

On Sunday, Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Dan Halutz indicated that he was being pressured by the government to conclude the air war against Hizbullah. The general said the air war was beginning to yield significant results that must be exploited over the next few days.

"Don't sit on me with a stopwatch on my head," Halutz said.

[On Monday, Palestinian gunners joined Hizbullah in missile strikes. Officials said at least 12 Kassam-class, short-range missiles landed around the Israeli city of Sderot.]

Officials said the U.S. proposal called for a Lebanese government to deploy its army along the Israeli border. They said the deployment would begin after a ceasefire was implemented.

The U.S. proposal does not stipulate the near-term elimination of Hizbullah's military wing, officials said. Instead, the United Nations Security Council would reaffirm Resolution 1559, which calls for the withdrawal of foreign forces from and dismantling of militias in Lebanon.

On Sunday, Lebanese officials said Olmert sent his Lebanese counterpart, Fuad Siniora, a message that agreed to a ceasefire in exchange for the release of two Israeli soldiers captured by Hizbullah on July 12. Another Israeli condition was that Hizbullah withdraw to the Litani River, about 20 kilometers north of the Israeli border.

The military has recommended the establishment of a so-called security zone in southern Lebanon that would not allow any suspected Hizbullah operatives. Officials said Halutz wants Israel to ensure that only Lebanese Army troops would be deployed in the south.

Officials said U.S. preparations for a ceasefire would intensify over the next 24 hours in wake of the G8 summit in St. Petersburg, Russia. British Prime Minister Tony Blair and United Nations secretary-general have called for the deployment of international troops along the Israeli-Lebanese border.

"I think we are talking about another week or two [of the Israeli operation]," Israeli Transportation Minister Shaul Mofaz, a former defense minister, said. "It depends on the pace of the military operation."


Copyright © 2006 East West Services, Inc.

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