The U.N.-brokered cease-fire between Hezbollah and Israel will begin at 8
a.m. Monday, U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan said Saturday in a taped
statement.
Hezbollah's Hassan Nasrallah
appears Saturday in a televised address.
[CNN] |
Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and
Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora agreed on the time, Annan said. But on the
deadliest day yet for Israeli soldiers, he urged both sides to stop fighting
immediately.
"Preferably, the fighting should stop now to respect the spirit and intent of
the council decision, the object of which was to save civilian lives, to spare
the pain and suffering that the civilians on both sides are living through,"
Annan said.
Hours earlier, Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah said that his militia would
honor the call for a cease-fire once a deal on the timing was reached.
The Lebanese government, which includes two members of Hezbollah, unanimously
approved Security Council Resolution 1701 on Saturday, Siniora said.
The announcement followed a meeting of the Lebanese Cabinet, and Siniora said
the Cabinet would meet again Sunday to discuss implementation.
While Siniora said only the Lebanese Army and U.N. forces would be allowed to
bear arms, the two Hezbollah members told the Cabinet that the Islamic militia
has no intention of disarming south of the Litani River, about 15 miles (25
kilometers) north of the Israel-Lebanon border, a senior Cabinet member said.
Senior Siniora adviser Mohamad Chatah, however, downplayed that report.
"There is a national consensus -- and Hezbollah has said that it's part of it
-- that there will be no arms in south Lebanon other than the arms of the state
of Lebanon and the U.N.," he said.
Israeli U.N. Ambassador Dan Gillerman said it would not be enough for
Hezbollah to simply lay down its weapons. The Security Council expects southern
Lebanon to be free "of any Hezbollah presence," he said.
In his televised address, Nasrallah expressed reservations about the
resolution, saying, "When the Israeli aggression stops, then the reaction by the
resistance will stop."
He said the Security Council resolution passed Friday is biased toward
Israel, neglecting to blame it for what he described as "massacres" and "war
crimes" during the monthlong conflict.
Siniora, too, had sharp words for Israel, telling reporters that the Jewish
state's decision not to approve the cease-fire immediately gives the Israeli
military "a blank check" to continue pounding Lebanon and "targeting civilians."
"This is the type of humanity we are getting from the Israelis. This is
terror by itself," he said. "Through force, they cannot achieve anything. They
have to get back to their senses."
Israel has yet to react formally to the U.N. resolution, which calls for a
cease-fire and then a massive increase in U.N. troops in southern Lebanon. The
Israeli Security Cabinet is expected to take up the proposal Sunday.
Israeli Ambassador to the United States Daniel Ayalon said the Cabinet was
likely to approve it.
The resolution calls for the release of two Israeli soldiers whose capture by
guerrillas precipitated the war that has killed nearly 1,000 people. Fighting
began July 12.
Israel expanded its ground offensive Saturday in its deepest thrust yet into
southern Lebanon. The Israel Defense Force said it was airlifting soldiers into
Lebanon but declined to reveal the size of the deployment.
Nasrallah said Hezbollah will help refugees return home and will support the
Lebanese Army and the U.N. Interim Force in Lebanon.
But he said "we are still in a war," and Hezbollah "will continue to defend"
itself.
"As long as our land is occupied, we will continue the resistance," he said.
Media reports say Israel plans to stop fighting in Lebanon at 7 a.m. Monday
(midnight ET). But Reuters news agency quoted a senior Israeli official as
saying that troops will continue battling Hezbollah in areas where the IDF is
operating.
U.S. President Bush welcomed the resolution in his Saturday radio address,
saying the United States and its allies have worked hard to "create the
conditions for an enduring cease-fire."
In an eight-minute call to Siniora on Saturday, Bush "stressed the need to
dismantle Hezbollah's state within a state in order to build Lebanese
democracy," said National Security Council spokesman Frederick Jones.
