Annan cites 'serious obstacles' to ceasefire
United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan today called for an immediate halt to the escalating conflict between Israel and Lebanon’s Hezbollah militia but said “there are serious obstacles to reaching a ceasefire or even to diminishing the violence quickly".
Annan said Hezbollah’s actions in launching rockets into Israel and abducting Israeli soldiers “hold an entire nation hostage” and set back prospects for Middle East peace.
“While Hezbollah’s actions are deplorable, and Israel has a right to defend itself, the excessive use of force is to be condemned,” he said. Israel must make “a far greater and more credible effort ... to protect civilians and civilian infrastructure,” he said.
In a report to the UN Security Council based on the visit of a three-member UN team to the region and his own contacts, Annan said “almost every day brings a new escalation” in fighting and the number of people affected by the conflict could likely double from the current estimate of about 500,000 to 1 million.
Annan said the mission reported that many of the people it spoke to in the region noted that “whatever damage Israel’s operations may be doing to Hezbollah’s military capabilities, they are doing little or nothing to decrease popular support for Hezbollah in Lebanon or the region, but are doing a great deal to weaken the government of Lebanon.”
“In short, the very government which Israel wants to extend its control has itself become a hostage to the crisis and is less able than ever to deploy its forces” to southern Lebanon, which is controlled by Hezbollah, he said.
Israel’s UN Ambassador Dan Gillerman indicated to reporters immediately after Annan’s speech that there would be no cease-fire.
“We will do whatever is necessary,” he said. “We have no timeline.”
Gillerman said he was “disturbed” that Annan’s report never mentioned the word “terror” or referred to Syria and Iran, which Israel accuses of being Hezbollah’s sponsors.
“The first thing that must be addressed is cessation of terror before we even talk about cessation of hostilities,” Gillerman said. “When you operate on a cancerous growth you do not stop in the middle, sew the patient up and
US Ambassador John Bolton said it was time for the Security Council to start considering some response.
“As we’ve said repeatedly,” he said, “what we seek is a long-term cessation of hostilities that’s part of a comprehensive change in the region and part of a real foundation for peace but still no one has explained how you conduct a ceasefire with a group of terrorists.”
