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Staff and wire reports
ROME — U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan on Wednesday called for participants at a Mideast conference to push for an immediate cease-fire to end fighting between Israel and Hezbollah guerrillas, and said that an international force is vital to a peaceful solution.
The U.N. chief said Hezbollah must stop its "deliberate targeting of Israeli population centers" and that Israel must end all bombing, ground operations and blockades of Lebanese ports. CNN is reporting a failure to reach an agreement, but no source is reported. A statement is expected to be issued at a later time. Senior officials from the United States, Europe and several Arab nations met to work on a plan for ending more than two weeks of fighting, even as Israeli troops and Hezbollah continued to clash. Much of the discussion will likely focus on efforts by the Europeans and others to overcome strong U.S. and British opposition to an immediate cease-fire. The Americans are against a quick truce, arguing that a cessation of violence must also lead to a durable peace and ensure that Hezbollah is no longer a threat to Israel. In a first sign of a concrete proposal, Italian Foreign Minister Massimo D'Alema called on participants to agree on an international donors conference for the reconstruction of Lebanon, his spokesman, Pasquale Ferrara, told reporters. Also, a senior European Union official says the group is prepared to offer a significant international force, but it won't be sent in absence of the political process. "There is more diplomacy needed. Today, we don't have a resolution," said the official. The foreign ministers and other senior officials from 15 nations, as well as Annan and representatives from the European Union and the World Bank, will also discuss the possible deployment of a multinational force to stabilize Lebanon's border with Israel and help disarm Hezbollah guerrillas. The meeting comes as the violence threatens to spiral further. Over the past day, ground fighting intensified, Hezbollah's leader threatened to strike deeper into Israel, and Iran's president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, warned the conflict could trigger "a hurricane" of broader fighting in the Middle East. An Israeli airstrike on a U.N. observation post in southern Lebanon that killed four unarmed U.N. observers is also likely to further fuel international demands for an immediate cease-fire. Annan said the airstrike late Tuesday was "apparently deliberate" and demanded an investigation. Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert called Annan on Wednesday to express his "deep regret over the mistaken killing," Olmert's office said. Almost every nation attending the international conference in Rome is pressing Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to call for an immediate end to the fighting on the Israeli-Lebanese border. But Rice stood her ground in two days of diplomacy in Lebanon and Israel and the West Bank. Rather than a quick fix, she has repeatedly said the region needs enduring solutions, and other U.S. officials have raised doubts about an immediate cease-fire between Israel and Hezbollah fighters in the south of Lebanon. The Rome meeting of European and moderate Arab officials was to discuss the fighting sparked by the July 12 Hezbollah abduction of two Israeli soldiers. Rice attended a morning meeting with Italian Foreign Minister Massimo D'Alema before the international conference was set to begin. When asked if she planned to announce an international force for Lebanon, Rice smiled and wouldn't comment. In Ramallah, Rice said the United States wants an "urgent but enduring" peace. After meeting Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert in Jerusalem, she said she has "no desire" to come back in months to deal with another Hezbollah uprising. "It is time for a new Middle East," she said. European and Arab states want a quick end to the violence. "The primary object is a cease-fire," said Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi. Forming a new international force for southern Lebanon is likely to be a key topic. Defense Minister Amir Peretz told Israeli radio that Israel will carve out a "security zone" in south Lebanon until an international force is deployed or Hezbollah is pushed back. In the region, Israeli warplanes resumed strikes on Hezbollah strongholds in Beirut. Israeli troops and tanks surrounded Hezbollah guerrillas in Bint Jbeil in southern Lebanon. In Israel, Hezbollah rockets continued to drop on northern Israeli cities. A total of 422 people in Lebanon and 42 Israelis have been killed since July 12.
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