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U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan (AP file)
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| By israelinsider staff and partners September 6, 2006 |
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U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan wrapped up a trip focused on the Middle East with two notable successes on Wednesday: getting Israel to lift its blockade on war-ravaged Lebanon and securing a commitment for Turkish troops to join the U.N. peacekeeping force there.
Just hours after Annan called on Israel to lift its blockade, Jerusalem responded positively, announcing that it will lift its sea and air blockade of Lebanon on Thursday evening.
It represented another diplomatic collapse of the Olmert government, which had previously objected to ending the blockade until a strict regimen was in place to prevent arms from being smuggled and its kidnapped soldiers from being smuggled out.
Families of kidnapped soldiers Ehud Goldwasser and Eldad Regev said that Israel should not lift the blockade before the kidnappers reveal any signs of life of the captured troops.
Head of the Campaign for the Return of the Captives, Maj. Gen. (res) Uzi Dayan, saidthe government's decision to lift the naval and aerial blockade on Lebanon "is tantamount to abandoning the kidnapped soldiers."
Dayan confirmed that, until now, Israel has not even received proof of life of the kidnapped Israeli soldiers and Israel's decision is "a relinquishment of our last means of returning the soldiers."
The families have repeatedly expressed fears that the kidnappers would attempt to smuggle the soldiers out of Lebanon.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Mark Regev weakly protested on Wednesday that Hezbollah's continued detention of Israeli soldiers violated a Security Council resolution, and that Lebanon must act to release them unconditionally.
"UN Security Council Resolution 1701, on which the cease-fire is based, calls unequivocally for an unconditional and immediate release of the soldiers being held hostage," he said. "The continued holding of our soldiers is a grave violation of the cease-fire. A continuation of this violation will have consequences."
Lebanon said Wednesday that the two Israeli soldiers kidnapped by Hezbollah in a cross-border attack would not be released unless Israel was prepared to discuss a prisoner swap.
The unconditional release of the soldiers, whose seizure by the Lebanese Hezbollah guerrilla group in a cross-border raid on July 12 sparked a 34-day war, is called for in the preamble to a UN Security Council resolution that brought about a cease-fire. The preamble "encourages" the settling of the issue of Lebanese prisoners detained in Israel.
"Neither of the two Israeli soldiers will be released unless there are negotiations over the exchange of Lebanese and Israeli prisoners," Lebanese Foreign Minister Fawzi Salloukh told reporters at an Arab foreign ministers' meeting in Cairo.
But Israel's removal of the blockade removes almost all of its leverage in the faltering effort to repatriate its soldiers.
A statement from the Israeli Prime Minister's Office said international forces would replace the Israelis at command positions over Lebanese seaports and airports. Annan had expressed hope while visiting Ankara that Jerusalem would lift the embargo within the next 36 to 48 hours.
Israel has been maintaining the blockade since the beginning of its 34-day-long offensive in Lebanon, which ended with a Aug. 14 cease-fire. The Israeli statement said the blockade was necessary to prevent arms shipments to Hezbollah guerrillas.22
Annan -- on the tail end of 11-day trip to the region -- also renewed a call for an Israeli troop pullout from Lebanon, calling it "crucial" to peacekeeping.
Annan also urged Hezbollah militants based in southern Lebanon to disarm. It was not clear if Hezbollah would heed Annan's call.
The U.N. has had 2,000 peacekeepers in Lebanon but is starting to send thousands more into the region to monitor the tenuous truce.
"When 5,000 international troops are on the ground ... we will have a credible force and it will be time for Israel to withdraw completely," Annan said.
Annan arrived in Turkey on Tuesday -- hours before its parliament voted to send troops to Lebanon, becoming the first Muslim country with diplomatic relations to Israel to join the U.N. force.
Annan called the Turkish decision "a sign of international solidarity" -- the spirit he sought during his Mideast tour.
Turkish officials, mindful of strong opposition in Turkey to deployment, have said its contribution would not exceed 1,000, and stated that Turkish soldiers would not undertake the task of disarming Hezbollah.
Thousands of protesters have protested the deployment, with many fearing it will lead to Turks confronting fellow Muslims. Police detained 30 stone-throwing protesters on Wednesday.
Annan said Lebanon -- not foreign troops -- must reach a national consensus on disarming Hezbollah militants.
"The remaining ones should disarm and devote all their energy to political activities to transform themselves into parties," he said.
While the full transformation of Hezbollah into a political movement is a distant goal, Annan said a mediator he appointed for indirect talks between Israel and Hezbollah on the release of two abducted Israeli soldiers would be in the region before the end of next week.
Annan has not said whether a prisoner swap was on the agenda for the mediation effort, and Israel on Monday repeated its stance demanding an unconditional release of the soldiers whose seizure by Hezbollah sparked the 34-day war.
While in Turkey, Annan also urged Iran to do everything it can to convince the international community its nuclear program is peaceful.
"If we are not able to resolve it peacefully, the most viable solution in my judgment is a negotiated settlement," Annan said. "I have urged Iran to do whatever it can to reassure the international community that indeed its intentions are peaceful."
Talks meant to give Tehran a last chance to avoid U.N. sanctions over its nuclear defiance were postponed Wednesday, with a senior Iranian envoy saying "a procedural matter" led both his country and the European Union to agree to several days' delay.
Iran defied an Aug. 31 deadline by the U.N. Security Council to freeze uranium enrichment, a process the West fears could lead to nuclear weapons.
The AP contributed to this report.
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