America, France Agree on Mideast Resolution

UNITED NATIONS (AP) – France and the United States reached a deal Friday on a final draft resolution aimed at ending the monthlong conflict between Israel and Hezbollah, with a likely vote by the U.N. Security Council later in the day.Initial indications were that Israel might be willing to accept the resolution even though it makes a key concession to Lebanon.Britain’s Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett said the resolution would give U.N. forces in south Lebanon a mandate under Chapter 6 of the U.N. Charter _ which Israel has previously opposed. But she said the mandate would be modified to make the force stronger than it’s been in the 28 years it has been in south Lebanon.The U.N. force, known by its acronym UNIFIL, would help coordinate the deployment of Lebanese forces to the south, which has been under de facto control of Hezbollah militias for years. Israeli troops that have occupied the area in more than four weeks of fighting would then withdraw.The U.S. and France had originally wanted UNIFIL force deployed under the Charter’s Chapter 7, which would give the troops even more robust rules of engagement. But Lebanon objected because of its fears that such a mandate would make the peacekeepers look like occupiers.“You never get a deal like this with everybody getting everything that they want,” Beckett said. “The question is, has everybody got enough for this to stick and for it to be enforceable? Nobody wants to go back to where we were before this last episode started.”The two sides sent the new text to the governments of Israel and Lebanon, but a French diplomat said the vote would go ahead whatever the response. The council was likely to vote on the document about 7 p.m. EDT, the diplomat said.There were indications that diplomats had managed to find language to eased Israel’s concerns that a Chapter 6 mandate, no matter how enhanced, would leave the force too weak. An individual close to the Israeli government said there’s a “good chance” Israel will a accept the new cease-fire proposal. The individual spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the government’s high-stakes negotiations.That reversal occured just hours after Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert expressed dissatisfaction with earlier Security Council proposals and decided to launch an expanded ground offensive in southern Lebanon.Israel, backed by the United States, is chiefly concerned that Hezbollah not be allowed to regain its strength south Lebanon once a cessation of hostilities goes into effect. Washington has supported Israel’s insistence on staying in southern Lebanon until a robust international force is deployed.Lebanese Prime Minister Fuad Saniora received a copy of the U.S.-French draft resolution, government officials said. He was studying the document and contacting politicians for their input, said the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter.The officials refused to say whom Saniora was talking with, but the leading Lebanese Broadcasting Corp., said he was in touch with Hezbollah officials as well as parliament speaker Nabih Berri, Hezbollah’s de facto negotiator.The announcement of the new text came after a morning of heated negotiations between senior diplomats, including Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Beckett, to accommodate concerns from both sides.The latest draft appears to eliminate the prospect of a new, independent multinational force that would patrol a buffer zone between Israel and Lebanon.A senior U.S. official in Washington, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the U.S. and France envision a 10-day time frame between the moment a halt to the hostilities is declared and when UNIFIL troops go into action in the south.The deal also renders moot a Russian-proposed draft resolution calling for a blanket 72-hour humanitarian cease-fire in Lebanon. Ambassador Vitaly Churkin had said he was increasingly impatient about the diplomatic efforts because the humanitarian crisis in Lebanon was reaching “catastrophic” proportions.U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan also expressed frustration that the council had yet to take action.“I think we’ve had enough discussions,” he said. “The issues have been discussed all around and it is time for decision, and I hope the council will take firm action today.”More than 800 people have died in the monthlong conflict, hundreds of Lebanese civilians and dozens of Israelis.

America, France Agree on Mideast Resolution

America, France Agree on Mideast Resolution

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