Ceasefire in Lebanon

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Israel offers " five minute " ceasefire in Lebanon

 

29 Jul 2006

by Adam Tan

 

In a desperate bid to stave off a rising torrent of

international

criticism, Israel today announced it would agree to a

brief ceasefire

in

Lebanon. " We will agree to a ceasefire of

approximately five minutes in

order to allow humanitarian aid to flow into Lebanon, "

said Amir

Peretz,

Israel's defence minister, at a news conference.

Peretz called the

offer

" unprecedented in the annals of international

conflict " .

 

The offer comes amid growing signs of strain between

Israel's two

strongest supporters, the United States and its man in

Britain, Blair. President Bush had argued that any ceasefire

should last no more

than a minute and a half, according to sources close

to the talks.

Prime

Minister Tony Blair, whose sympathy for the plight of

Lebanese

civilians

has recently become more pronounced, initially

advocated a ten-minute

ceasefire. Confronted with strong American hostility

to his proposal,

Blair backed down, reportedly asserting that the ten

minutes " could be

scattered over several days. " Diplomatic observers

view Israel's

position, a ceasefire for five consecutive minutes, as

a compromise

position.

 

Hezbollah reacted swiftly to the proposal, firing a

brace of rockets

into a field in northern Israel. The organisation's

Al-Manar news

service claimed the barrage destroyed " one, and quite

possibly two

abandoned sheds " . The Israeli government angrily

denied the claims.

Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah meanwhile gleefully

proclaimed that

" with our remaining arsenal of longer range and even

less accurate

rockets, no outbuilding in Israel is safe " .

 

While expressing doubt that the parties would agree to

any ceasefire,

United Nations emergency relief coordinator Jan

Egeland put out a call

for " lots of really, really fast cars " that could be

used to rush aid

into the Lebanese interior during the brief respite.

" It's unlikely

we'll be able to help many people, " Egeland said, " but

we've carried

out

even less effective actions in the past. "

 

Military experts are divided on the impact such a

brief ceasefire might

have on the overall campaign. " It could allow several

members of

Hezbollah to carry out important morale-building

activities, like

taking

a piss, " noted Douglas Ramsbottom, director of the

Center for Perpetual

Conflict at the University of South Florida. However,

others have noted

that the pause in fighting could allow IDF soldiers to

take a piss too,

negating any advantage Hezbollah might otherwise

obtain.

 

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