CTV [Canada]: Sporadic fighting highlights ceasefire fragility

Sporadic fighting highlights ceasefire fragility

CTV.ca News Staff | August 14, 2006

A UN-brokered ceasefire took effect Monday between Israel and Hezbollah but the fragility of the deal was magnified early Tuesday as guerrillas fired at least 10 Katyusha rockets within southern Lebanon.

Israel reported the rocket explosions but said that none of them reached Israeli soil. Despite the truce, Hezbollah has said they will consider Israeli forces that remain in southern Lebanon a legitimate target.

Meanwhile, with both sides claiming victory, Israeli and Hezbollah officials worked feverishly to spin the outcome of the war in their favour.

A difficult task since:

* Two Israeli soldiers that sparked the fighting after they were abducted by Hezbollah fighters on July 12 -- Ehud Goldwasser and Eldad Regev -- have not been returned;

* At least 1,100 Lebanese were killed (692 civilians) and more than 900,000 were displaced;

* At least 169 Israelis (39 civilians) were killed and more than 500,000 were displaced;

* Estimates of infrastructure damage are in the $4 billion range.

Hezbollah leader Sheik Hassan Nasrallah claimed the battle was a victory against Israel.

In a taped speech on Hezbollah's al-Manar TV, Nasrallah said his guerrillas had achieved a "strategic, historic victory.''

"We came out victorious in a war in which big Arab armies were defeated (before),'' the cleric said.

Nasrallah also asserted that now was not the time to debate the disarmament of his guerrilla fighters. He said the topic should be discussed in secret sessions of the government.

"This is immoral, incorrect and inappropriate,'' he said. "It is wrong timing on the psychological and moral level particularly before the ceasefire,'' he said in reference to calls for disarmament.

"Who will defend Lebanon in case of a new Israeli offensive?'' he asked. "The Lebanese army and international troops are incapable of protecting Lebanon,'' he said, flanked by Lebanese and Hezbollah flags.

Nasrallah promised that teams from Hezbollah are ready to help the Lebanese people rebuild houses damaged by Israeli strikes.

The guerrilla group is also planning to pay one year's rent and the cost of furniture to the owners of about 15,000 destroyed homes, he said.

Moments after his speech ended, celebratory gunfire erupted across the Lebanese capital.

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, however, told parliament Hezbollah's "state within a state" and "terror organization" in southern Lebanon had been destroyed in the conflict.

But he added that the group's leaders would "not be left alone."

"We will continue pursuing them anywhere, all the time and we do not intend to apologize or ask anyone's permission," he added.

Olmert also took sole responsibility for the offensive and acknowledged "deficiencies" in the way the war was conducted but refused to apologize.

Olmert also said Israel will use "all of the tools available to us" to find and return the kidnapped Israeli soldiers who were seized by Hezbollah on July 12.

Anticipating that another war with Hezbollah may come in the future, he said Israel will learn the lessons of this war and "do better."

Hezbollah suffered defeat: U.S.

In Washington, U.S. President George W. Bush said Hezbollah suffered a defeat at the hands of Israel.

"There's going to be a new power in the south of Lebanon," said Bush.

Meanwhile, UN Secretary General Kofi Annan said the ceasefire appeared to be holding and urged both sides to "continue to consolidate the cessation."

But at least four skirmishes were reported in Lebanon on Monday after the guns fell silent, highlighting lingering tensions that could threaten the ceasefire.

The fighting reportedly persisted until the final minutes before the ceasefire took effect Monday morning at 8 a.m. local time (1 a.m. ET).

Nevertheless, six Hezbollah guerrillas were killed in fighting with Israeli soldiers after the implementation of the truce.

Four militants were killed near the village of Hadatha in southern Lebanon when armed men approached an Israeli position, said the Israeli military.

Israeli officials told the AFP news agency that in each case soldiers had opened fire "when armed men tried to approach."

Two others were killed in separate clashes in the towns of Farun and Shama on Monday.

The next step

Lebanese, Israeli and UN officers met on the border to discuss the withdrawal of Israeli forces from southern Lebanon.

The meeting marked the first step in the process of military disengagement as demanded by a UN Security Council resolution.

Israel has said it will maintain its air and sea blockade of Lebanon to prevent arms from reaching Hezbollah guerrillas. However, it won't pull out its troops until international and Lebanese troops begin deploying in the region.

The deployment of a 30,000-member, joint Lebanese-international force is the next step of the UN ceasefire agreement. However, it appears to be days away, amid consultations on the force's mandate and makeup.

The force is expected to be made up of 15,000 UN troops and 15,000 Lebanese troops.

Lebanon said they could mobilize their troops to north of the Litani River this week; however, Israel is demanding a force along the Israeli-Lebanon border to curb any Hezbollah offensive.

Maj. Gen. Alain Pellegrini, the French commander of the current UN force known as UNIFIL, said troops were needed immediately since the situation was "not safe from a provocation, or stray act, that could undermine everything."

France, Italy, Turkey and Malaysia have all shown willingness to send troops into the region.

Returning Home

Thousands of Lebanese who were forced to flee when violence erupted in mid-July defied an Israeli travel ban and began making their way back home on Monday to see what was left of their home and possessions.

Lines of cars could be seen snaking their way around bombed-out bridges and craters left by explosives as they tried to reach southern Lebanon.

In northern Israel, residents came out of bomb shelters after more than a month of rocket barrages. Even the beaches in Haifa returned to a level of normalcy as beachgoers took to the water.

But Harold Waller, a political science professor from McGill University, said he is skeptical about whether the truce will hold.

"The parties are still very close to each other in south Lebanon and therefore it's very conceivable that something could set things off again," he told CTV.

"It's more likely though that things will be quiet for a while, but it's a very unstable situation and I'm skeptical about whether it can really hold over the long-term."

With files from The Associated Press