[Vision2020] Let's Hope This Peace Lasts

[J Ford]

At least for a few days................................



BEIRUT (Reuters) - A fragile truce took hold in Lebanon on Monday, prompting 
a wave of refugees to return to bomb-blasted villages in the south, as 
Hizbollah claimed victory in the month-long war and        Israel vowed to 
hunt down its leaders.

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Ground clashes, Israeli air strikes and Hizbollah rocket fire ceased after 
the 0500 GMT deadline, but the Israeli army said its troops had shot five 
Hizbollah guerrillas, killing at least one, after the truce. The troops had 
felt threatened.

U.N. Secretary-General        Kofi Annan said he was relieved that the 
cessation of hostilities "appears to be generally holding."

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert told parliament Israel would pursue 
Hizbollah's leaders "everywhere and any time."

Hizbollah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah said his fighters had achieved a 
"strategic and historic victory" over Israel and that it was the wrong time 
publicly to discuss disarming them.

       President Bush said Hizbollah had suffered a defeat and accused       
  Iran of meddling in Lebanon and        Iraq.

"In both these countries Iran is backing armed groups in the hope of 
stopping democracy from taking hold," Bush said.

The truce prompted tens of thousands of Lebanese who had fled the fighting 
to head south, choking bomb-damaged roads with their cars in spite of a 
warning from Israel not to return to the area. Drivers honked their horns in 
celebration.

Ahmed Nassereddine arrived in the village of Shihabiyeh to find out that his 
building and petrol station had been destroyed by an Israeli air strike just 
10 minutes before the truce.

"PROPERTY CAN BE REPLACED"

"Thank God, we survived. Property can be replaced, souls can't," he said, 
holding back tears.

In northern Israel, soldiers returning from Lebanon were greeted with hugs 
and handshakes by their comrades. Streets became busier as residents emerged 
from homes and bomb shelters.

"I feel safer," said 12-year-old Johnny Wena, riding his bicycle through the 
streets of Metula.

Israel launched the war after Hizbollah guerrillas captured two Israeli 
soldiers in a cross-border raid on July 12.

Nasrallah said Hizbollah would immediately begin repairing homes damaged by 
Israeli strikes and would pay a year's rent and other costs to help the 
owners of about 15,000 destroyed houses.

Annan urged the sides to consolidate the halt to hostilities and move 
swiftly to convert it to a lasting ceasefire.

The White House said border security would need to be tightened in Lebanon 
to block weapons deliveries to Hizbollah from Iran and        Syria -- both 
of which deny arming the guerrillas.

The U.N. resolution calls for a ban on arms supplies to groups in Lebanon, 
but does not say how it should be enforced.

An Israeli military source said an air and sea blockade of Lebanon would 
remain until the arms embargo was implemented.

About 1,110 people in Lebanon and 156 Israelis have been killed in the war. 
Israel says it killed about 530 Hizbollah fighters. Hizbollah has 
acknowledged only about 80 dead.

"SHORTCOMINGS" IN THE WAR

Thousands of Israeli troops remain in southern Lebanon. Israel has said they 
will not withdraw fully until an expanded U.N. peacekeeping force arrives 
alongside Lebanese troops.

The commander of an existing U.N. force in Lebanon, Major-General Alain 
Pellegrini, met senior Lebanese and Israeli army officials at the border to 
discuss implementing the U.N. resolution on ending fighting.

Olmert acknowledged "shortcomings" in the conduct of the war and told 
parliament he bore full responsibility.

Israeli Defense Minister Amir Peretz pledged a "wide and thorough" 
investigation of the war. Opinion polls show almost all Israelis supported 
it, but many criticize its handling.

Aid groups said they needed swift access to the south to help 100,000 people 
stranded south of the Litani River.

"There can no longer be any no-go areas in Lebanon," said David Shearer, the 
U.N. humanitarian coordinator in Lebanon.

Under the resolution adopted by the        U.N. Security Council on Friday, 
Israeli forces must start to withdraw as U.N. peacekeepers and Lebanese 
soldiers deploy in the south.

Hizbollah has said it will cooperate with the Lebanese and U.N. troops, but 
has not promised to withdraw its fighters or disarm -- even though it has 
accepted the U.N. resolution which says no unofficial armed group should be 
in the south.

(Additional reporting by Jerusalem and U.N. bureaux)





J  :]

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