Lebanese Government Ready To Implement 2006 UN Resolution On Hezbollah

JAKARTA - The Lebanese government is ready to fully implement UN resolutions regarding the end of the Hezbollah armed group south of the Litani River, as part of an agreement to stop the war with Israel, interim Prime Minister Najib Mikati said.

Mikati said Lebanon is ready to fully implement UN Security Council Resolution 1701 and deploy troops south of the river, located about 30 km (about 20 miles) from the southern Lebanese border.

He further said that he and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Nabih Berri, had agreed that the new presidential election to end the hiatus for almost two years would only occur after the ceasefire broke out, in comments made after the two met in Beirut.

Israeli forces have dealt many punches against Hezbollah in a two-week wave of attacks on targets in Lebanon that have killed several commanders.

As previously reported, Israeli Foreign Minister Katz has conveyed a message to a number of countries that Israel will not agree to a ceasefire in Lebanon without a number of conditions.

Public broadcasting institutions Kan said that the Foreign Minister Katz conveyed in messages sent to more than 25 of his colleagues in various countries, including Germany, England, Italy, and Canada.

Katz reportedly said the only acceptable situation for a ceasefire was if Hezbollah withdrew from the Israeli border and was in the north of the Litani River, stripped.

"Only the full implementation of all UN Security Council resolutions on Lebanon will result in a ceasefire," Foreign Minister Katz said, quoted by The Times of Israel.

"As long as this doesn't happen, Israel will continue its actions to ensure the safety of its citizens and the return of the northern population to their homes," he explained.

Kan said ministers involved in talks for the ceasefire also received the same message.

It is possible that Israel's next step is to send ground troops and tanks to the border in the minds of many people.

Lebanese Health Ministry said more than 1,000 Lebanese had been killed and 6,000 others injured in the past two weeks, without specifying how many civilians. Meanwhile, the government said one million people - one fifth of the population - had fled their homes.

"We in Lebanon are ready to carry out 1701, and as soon as the ceasefire is implemented, Lebanon is ready to send Lebanese troops to the southern region of the Litani River and carry out its duties in full," in coordination with UN peacekeepers, Mikati said.

It is known that the UN DK Resolution 1701 ended a month-long 2006 war between Hezbollah and Israel, calling for a full withdrawal of Israel from southern Lebanon while Lebanese soldiers and UN peacekeeping forces became the only armed forces in the south of the Litani River.