United Nations secretary general Kofi Annan has called for an immediate halt to violence in Lebanon, telling Hizbullah that it must release captured Israeli soldiers and warning Israel that its actions are weakening the Lebanese government, writes Denis Staunton in New York.
Mr Annan told the UN Security Council that Hizbullah's capture of two Israeli soldiers and its rocket attacks on Israel had triggered the crisis and set back the prospects for peace in the Middle East.
He said, however, that Israel had shown inadequate concern for the impact of its offensive on civilians and may have made it more difficult for the Lebanese government to disarm Hizbullah.
"Whatever damage Israel's operations may be doing to Hizbullah's military capabilities, they are doing little or nothing to decrease popular support for Hizbullah in Lebanon or the region, but are doing a great deal to weaken the government of Lebanon. In short, the very government which Israel wants to extend its control has itself become a hostage to the crisis and is less able than ever to deploy its forces," he said.
Mr Annan was due last night to host a meeting on the crisis with US secretary of state Condoleezza Rice and EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana. The Security Council discussed the worsening conflict in an informal closed-door session yesterday and will discuss it in formal session today. The US state department said yesterday that Ms Rice would travel to the region next week to press for a political solution. "She wants to go to the region when she believes it's helpful and useful to help work on a lasting and durable political solution to end the violence," spokesman Sean McCormack said.
Mr Annan wants Hizbullah to release the captured Israeli soldiers into the custody of the Lebanese government, which would hand them over to Israel, and he wants Israel to halt its bombardment simultaneously. He called for a donor conference to help rebuild the Lebanese infrastructure.
Mr Annan is also pressing for a multilateral force to be sent to Lebanon, where a 2,000-strong Unifil force is already deployed.
Eight Irish military officers are attached to the Unifil force and Ireland's long experience in Lebanon could prove valuable to any new force. Minister for Foreign Affairs Dermot Ahern made clear this week that commitments in Liberia and Kosovo made a significant Irish troop contribution unlikely.
Israel's ambassador to the UN, Dan Gillerman, criticised Mr Annan for failing to blame Syria and Iran for the conflict and rejected the secretary-general's call for a ceasefire.
"The first thing that must be addressed is cessation of terror. When you operate on a cancerous growth, you do not stop in the middle, sew the patient up and tell him 'keep living with that growth until it kills you'. You make sure it is totally removed," he said.