MIDDLE EAST: A senior UN envoy has warned that it could take up to three months to deploy an international force in southern Lebanon and that the ceasefire between Israel and Hizbullah remains "extremely fragile".
Italy said yesterday it would send up to 3,000 troops - the largest number offered by one country - but warned that its soldiers would not be deployed unless Israel kept to the ceasefire commitment.
At Italy's request, EU foreign ministers will hold a special meeting in Brussels on Friday, along with UN secretary general Kofi Annan, to discuss how many troops other EU nations will contribute.
Terje Roed-Larsen, the UN envoy on Lebanon who was in Jerusalem for talks yesterday, said the "security vacuum" in southern Lebanon would remain for some time. "I think realistically, up to a point, you will have such a vacuum in Lebanon for the next two, three months. The situation is still extremely fragile . . . Unintended incidents can kick off renewed violence, which might escalate and spin out of control."
Italy's foreign minister Massimo D'Alema said his forces would not go in unless Israel respected the ceasefire.
The UN has already accused Israel of violating last week's ceasefire when it launched a commando raid in the Bekaa Valley on Saturday. Israel says that under the terms of the ceasefire it is allowed to attack any efforts to rearm Hizbullah. It still has five brigades of troops deployed in southern Lebanon and is enforcing a naval blockade and restrictions on air traffic.
Italy's force would be a third of the total contribution from European nations. Other countries such as Spain, the Netherlands, Belgium, France and Germany are likely to send troops. Both Britain and the US have said they will not send soldiers.
In Israel, the political fallout from the conflict deepens. Senior politicians yesterday threatened to break apart the coalition government after a row over meeting the cost of the war. The government is already under pressure from army reservists who have demanded a national inquiry as well as the resignations of prime minister Ehud Olmert and defence minister Amir Peretz.
Treasury officials say the cost in damage to buildings and lost income in northern Israel is double original estimates and stands at six billion shekels (€1.08 billion), Ha'aretz newspaper said.
A parliamentary committee met yesterday to agree a two billion-shekel budget cut to help meet that extra cost, but had to abandon the vote after two politicians from Labor - a key coalition member - refused to back it.
One leading politician said the prime minister needed to reshuffle his cabinet immediately. "The meaning of this is that Israel has no coalition today," said Avigdor Yitzhaki, coalition whip in Mr Olmert's Kadima party. "The Labor Party isn't a coalition partner you can rely on."
Separately, Israel has freed and sent back to Lebanon five people who were captured during a helicopter commando raid on Baalbeck in Lebanon. The Israeli military said it believed the five were Hizbullah members. However, it now appears that one was a local grocer who shared the name of Hizbullah's leader, Hassan Nasrallah, although he is unrelated.