|
Trending Topics
|
Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/08/world/middleeast/08mideast.html
Lebanon, Arab League Object to Draft UN Resolution on Cease-Fire
[New York Times] Hassan M. Fattah and Steven Erlanger - Diplomatic efforts stalled at the UN on Monday, after Lebanon and Arab League members objected to a draft resolution on a cease-fire. The American-French proposal calls for a truce, asks the current UN peacekeeping force to monitor the border area, and lays out a plan for a permanent cease-fire and political settlement. President Bush called for the resolution's speedy adoption, but made clear that the main sticking point - Lebanon's insistence that the draft be altered to require Israel to withdraw troops immediately - was nonnegotiable. In resisting Lebanon's demand for a speedy pullout, Bush said such a withdrawal could create the "unacceptable" situation of allowing Hizballah to flourish at the border. "We must not create a vacuum into which Hizballah and its sponsors are able to move more weapons," he said.