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PM Olmert: picking a fighting with Chief of Staff Halutz? (AP)
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| By Israel Insider staff and partners September 7, 2006 |
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An unprecedented crisis between Israel's political and military branches appears to be brewing, apparently contributing to a delay in the implementation of the lifting of the naval blockage, despite Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's commitment to do so by 6 pm Thursday evening.
Israel had pledged to lift its air and sea blockade of Lebanon on Thursday, bowing to international pressure.
But as of 10 pm Thursday, the sea blockage continued, and the aerial blockade continued to be enforced to some extent. Officials explained that the Israeli navy would enforce the siege until suitable international replacements arrived. But the French had volunteered to perform the tasks.
PM Olmert came under fierce attack by the family of Israeli soldiers kidnapped by Hezbollah, and by the IDF and political figures, who said that lifting the blockage would reduce the chance that the soldiers would be repatriated, and increasing the chances that they could be smuggled out of the country.
There are reports of fierce resistance by senior officials in the IDF to comply with the order to lift the blockade. Debkafile reports that the Prime Minister's Office and the Defense Ministry failed on Wednesday, September 6, to inform Halutz about the decision to lift the air, sea and land siege of Lebanon the following day. The chief of General Staff and other generals reportedly heard about the decision -- which Halutz vehemently opposed -- through the media.
The Israeli Prime Minister's office had made the announcement of the lifting of the blockage Wednesday, saying international forces would take over the task of preventing arms shipments from reaching Hezbollah guerrillas.
Thursday, confusion reigned as the naval blockade remained in place.
Debkafile said that a total rupture between Olmert and Halutz had taken place, with the Prime Minister "now frankly telling his cabinet ministers and confidants that Halutz 'was not a good military adviser to the prime minister during the Lebanon war,' although this is one of his primary functions. The prime minister is also accusing the chief of staff of having pressured him to approve the Israeli Air Force offensive at the outset of the Lebanon War persuading him that the air force could achieve a quick win. Halutz, he says did not accurately update him on the sites targeted for bombing or the progress of ground battles, leaving him short of data for the right decisions."
Debkafile reported that "in Olmert's opinion, the chief of staff dealt too slowly with the shortcomings displayed by the IDF's Northern Command, its chief Maj.-Gen Udi Adam and the division commanders, instead of addressing them on the spot."
Debkafile reported Olmert told his close aides that the main problem today was that Defense Minister Amir Peretz was "standing in the way of Halutz's dismissal, knowing that his own head would be next on the chopping block." Olmert's hope was that the chief of staff would tender his resignation.
But military sources told DEBKAfile that the general view in the IDF is that the prime minister was trying to scapegoat the chief of staff for the Lebanon war's failures and "forgetting" the many instances when he turned down recommendations and plans presented him by the General Staff, preferring instead to consult with his military secretary, Maj.-Gen. Gadi Shamni, and Internal Security Minister Avi Dichter, giving more weight to their advice than to the Halutz's recommendations.
Israel had maintained its embargo for nearly two months, even though a cease-fire ended a bloody, destructive monthlong conflict with Hezbollah.
The announcement marked a major victory for U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan, who had repeatedly demanded Israel end the blockade, and it showed that with U.N. mediation, some of the outstanding disagreements might be resolved.
In a statement, Annan said, "The lifting of the blockade will enable Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Saniora and his government to accelerate their economic recovery and reconstruction program."
Miri Eisen, a spokesperson for PM Ehud Olmert, attributed the delay to the requirements of a complex military operation. "What starts at six is a gradual process, it could take hours or a day (to complete)," said Eisen. She said it would not happen all at once "when the bell rings."
Lebanon's Prime Minister Fuad Siniora acknowledged the delayed on Thursday, attributing it to a problem with UN coordination, and insisting that he expected Israel to lift the sea blockade on the country on Friday.
"There was a problem at the United Nations that is being resolved," Siniora told a news conference when asked why the end of the naval siege had been delayed. "Be sure the embargo will be lifted... It's a small problem at night, and I think that in the morning, God willing, this thing will be lifted."
Israel is slowly pulling its troops out of southern Lebanon as international peacekeepers arrive. However, a deal on the thorniest remaining issue -- the return of two Israeli soldiers whose July 12 capture sparked the fighting -- will be far more difficult to broker, since Israel has demanded their unconditional release but Hezbollah has insisted on a prisoner swap.
There were no dollar estimates on the losses Lebanon suffered from the blockade, but at one point it caused severe fuel shortages, leading to long lines at gas stations and forcing the electric company to ration power. But in recent weeks, some supply ships were allowed to dock after coordinating with Israel, easing the fuel crisis and allowing the electricity authority to lift part of the rationing.
On Wednesday, a statement from Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's office said Annan and U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice told Olmert that the international forces were ready to monitor the airports and seaports, so Israel agreed to lift the blockade effective 6 p.m. Thursday.
"We have said from the beginning of the blockade...that as soon as international troops would arrive Israel would hand over the implementation of the (arms) embargo to the international troops," Israeli government spokeswoman Miri Eisin said.
When Israel's decision was announced at a political gathering in Lebanon on Wednesday evening, the crowd broke into noisy applause.
Lebanese President Emile Lahoud, a staunch supporter of Hezbollah, hailed the decision as a victory for Lebanon.
"Lebanon's firm position and its refusal to bow to pressure or blackmail forced Israeli officials to take the decision on lifting the blockade," he said, adding that Israel still has to remove its forces from south Lebanon.
Eisin said Israel was still concerned about arms smuggling to Hezbollah across Lebanon's border with Syria.
"Until that issue is resolved, Israel will continue to reserve our right of self-defense to continue to implement the embargo against any arrival of weapons to Hezbollah from Syria," she said, in what appeared to be an implied threat to conduct airstrikes against vehicles carrying arms shipments.
A sticking point in lifting the siege was Israel's demand that foreign troops be in place first, as opposed to Lebanon's insistence that the blockade be ended before it asked for the foreign assistance, according to Lebanese officials.
Under the U.N.-brokered deal, the Beirut government sent a letter to the United Nations on Wednesday evening -- about the time the Israeli government announced the lifting of the blockade -- requesting that Germany monitor shipping into Lebanon, a Lebanese official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the agreement.
Airport security will be handled solely by Lebanese authorities with only technical support from U.N. peacekeepers, the official said.
About 3,250 U.N. forces are now in Lebanon, and U.N. officials expect that figure to reach 5,000 by late next week. A U.N. cease-fire resolution calls for a 15,000 member U.N. force to patrol south Lebanon, along with 15,000 Lebanese soldiers, to prevent another outbreak of violence.
French peacekeepers began their first patrols of Lebanon's bomb-ravaged border area Wednesday and were greeted by villagers waving flags and taking pictures.
But in a reminder of the fragility of the peace, two Lebanese explosives experts were killed and one was seriously wounded in the village of Aita al-Jabal as they tried to defuse an unexploded artillery shell left over from the war, Lebanese officials said.
The 34-day war, which ended Aug. 14, killed 855 Lebanese and 159 Israelis. During the fighting, Hezbollah launched nearly 4,000 rockets into northern Israel, forcing about 300,000 residents to evacuate and causing hundreds of millions of dollars in damage to buildings and the economy.
Lebanon estimates that Israeli airstrikes and ground attacks caused $3.6 billion in damage. International donors pledged $1 billion to Lebanon last week, but rebuilding efforts could not begin in earnest until Israel ended the blockade.
Israel softened the blockade in recent weeks, allowing some commercial flights into the airport and letting some aid ships to enter. Gulf Air announced Wednesday it will start flying to Lebanon beginning Saturday, and a British Airways flight was expected to fly into the airport Wednesday evening from London.
Throughout his 11-day Mideast tour, Annan had been calling on Israel to end the blockade.
Speaking in Ankara, Turkey, he brought up the next hurdle, calling for Israel to finish pulling its troops out of Lebanon. Israel still has small numbers of troops in border villages where Hezbollah forces were dug in.
Annan said Wednesday it would be time for Israel to withdraw once 5,000 international troops are on ground.
The AP contributed to this report.
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