OMEN
07-31-2006, 02:15 PM
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CHILD VICTIM: Rescuers pull the body of a toddler of an Israeli air raid on Qana that killed more than 60 people.
JERUSALEM: US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice won a 48-hour suspension from Israel of its aerial bombardment of south Lebanon but ended a stymied peace mission today without a call for an overall ceasefire.
The announcement came after a tumultuous day of diplomacy following Israel's air strike on a Lebanese village that killed at least 54 people, most of them children, and led Rice to cancel a trip to Beirut after being told she was not welcome.
Israel will also co-ordinate with the United Nations to allow a 24-hour window for residents of southern Lebanon to leave the area if they wish, State Department spokesman Adam Ereli told a briefing in Jerusalem.
Israeli government officials confirmed that the military would adhere to the two-day suspension and work with the United Nations to open a 24-hour window for residents of southern Lebanon to get out of the area following 19 days of fighting.
While suspending aerial activity, Ereli made clear that Israel had the right to "take action against targets preparing attacks against it," reiterating US policy that Israel has the right to defend itself.
"Israel has agreed to a 48-hour suspension of aerial activity in south Lebanon to investigate today's tragic incident in Qana," said Ereli.
Rice held extended meetings with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni at which the top US diplomat urged Israel to use restraint after the Qana bombing, in which 37 children died while sheltering in a basement with their families.
The goal of the suspension, said Ereli, was to improve the flow of humanitarian aid to ease the suffering of families and children in south Lebanon caught up in the 19-day war.
"The United States welcomes this decision and hopes that it will help to relieve the suffering of the children and families of Southern Lebanon," he said.
After the Qana bombing, Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora told Rice he did not want her to come to his country for planned meetings, saying he could not hold any talks on resolving the crisis before an immediate ceasefire.
Rice, who will leave for Washington on Monday after a week of Middle East diplomacy, insisted she had cancelled the Lebanon trip and not the other way round. US officials said they were still in close contact with Siniora's office.
A US official said Rice wanted to go back to Washington to focus on getting a UN resolution for a "sustainable and durable" ceasefire.
The aerial suspension is a victory for Rice but her failure to call for an immediate ceasefire will disappoint many US allies who say the United States has given Israel a green light to continue attacking Lebanese targets by not demanding an overall truce.
At least 542 people have been killed in Lebanon, though the health minister estimated the toll at 750 including unrecovered bodies. Fifty-one Israelis have been killed.
Rice, who was with Israel's defence minister when she heard of the bombing, said she was deeply saddened by the Israeli air strike but did not show any public anger towards the strong US ally. Nevertheless, US officials said privately she had strong words with Olmert and made her distress clear.
Both Israel and the United States have said an immediate ceasefire would be meaningless unless Hizbollah could no longer carry out raids and rocket attacks and the Shi'ite militia could eventually be disarmed as demanded by a UN resolution.
In her meeting with Olmert, Rice also discussed the size and mandate for a foreign intervention force that could deploy in southern Lebanon.
Rice is expected to make a statement at 8am Israeli time before she leaves for Washington
Reuters
CHILD VICTIM: Rescuers pull the body of a toddler of an Israeli air raid on Qana that killed more than 60 people.
JERUSALEM: US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice won a 48-hour suspension from Israel of its aerial bombardment of south Lebanon but ended a stymied peace mission today without a call for an overall ceasefire.
The announcement came after a tumultuous day of diplomacy following Israel's air strike on a Lebanese village that killed at least 54 people, most of them children, and led Rice to cancel a trip to Beirut after being told she was not welcome.
Israel will also co-ordinate with the United Nations to allow a 24-hour window for residents of southern Lebanon to leave the area if they wish, State Department spokesman Adam Ereli told a briefing in Jerusalem.
Israeli government officials confirmed that the military would adhere to the two-day suspension and work with the United Nations to open a 24-hour window for residents of southern Lebanon to get out of the area following 19 days of fighting.
While suspending aerial activity, Ereli made clear that Israel had the right to "take action against targets preparing attacks against it," reiterating US policy that Israel has the right to defend itself.
"Israel has agreed to a 48-hour suspension of aerial activity in south Lebanon to investigate today's tragic incident in Qana," said Ereli.
Rice held extended meetings with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni at which the top US diplomat urged Israel to use restraint after the Qana bombing, in which 37 children died while sheltering in a basement with their families.
The goal of the suspension, said Ereli, was to improve the flow of humanitarian aid to ease the suffering of families and children in south Lebanon caught up in the 19-day war.
"The United States welcomes this decision and hopes that it will help to relieve the suffering of the children and families of Southern Lebanon," he said.
After the Qana bombing, Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora told Rice he did not want her to come to his country for planned meetings, saying he could not hold any talks on resolving the crisis before an immediate ceasefire.
Rice, who will leave for Washington on Monday after a week of Middle East diplomacy, insisted she had cancelled the Lebanon trip and not the other way round. US officials said they were still in close contact with Siniora's office.
A US official said Rice wanted to go back to Washington to focus on getting a UN resolution for a "sustainable and durable" ceasefire.
The aerial suspension is a victory for Rice but her failure to call for an immediate ceasefire will disappoint many US allies who say the United States has given Israel a green light to continue attacking Lebanese targets by not demanding an overall truce.
At least 542 people have been killed in Lebanon, though the health minister estimated the toll at 750 including unrecovered bodies. Fifty-one Israelis have been killed.
Rice, who was with Israel's defence minister when she heard of the bombing, said she was deeply saddened by the Israeli air strike but did not show any public anger towards the strong US ally. Nevertheless, US officials said privately she had strong words with Olmert and made her distress clear.
Both Israel and the United States have said an immediate ceasefire would be meaningless unless Hizbollah could no longer carry out raids and rocket attacks and the Shi'ite militia could eventually be disarmed as demanded by a UN resolution.
In her meeting with Olmert, Rice also discussed the size and mandate for a foreign intervention force that could deploy in southern Lebanon.
Rice is expected to make a statement at 8am Israeli time before she leaves for Washington
Reuters