[Ha'aretz] Zvi Bar'el - A cease-fire comes with attached conditions, Nasrallah's deputy, Sheikh Naim Kassem, said Thursday: stopping Israel's attacks, removing all Israeli troops from Lebanese soil, and returning the Lebanese refugees to the villages they fled from in the south of the country; in other words, restoring the pre-July 12 situation. Lebanon's conditions for a settlement, that have received international and Arab support, include the deployment of the Lebanese army along the border and the strengthening of the international force. By declaring his own separate conditions, Nasrallah is claiming a right to veto any Lebanese government decisions, and establishing himself as a central power that must be reckoned with. He is saying that any agreement with Lebanon will be invalid without his approval.
2006-08-04 01:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive