BEIRUT, Aug 5, 2006 (AFP) – Lebanon rejects a draft UN Security Council resolution which aims to brings about a ceasefire with Israel, and wants the text to be amended, a government source told AFP on Saturday.

“The Lebanese government is opposed to the Franco-American draft and has sent Lebanon’s representative to the UN, Acting Foreign Minister Tarek Mitri, an amended text which includes Lebanon’s demands,” the source said.-AFP

UN resolution calls for ‘full cessation of hostilities’ in Lebanon

UNITED NATIONS, Aug 5, 2006 (AFP) – The United States and France reached agreement Saturday on a draft resolution for Lebanon that calls for a “full cessation of hostilities.”

The UN Security Council was to meet at 3:00 pm (1900 GMT) Saturday to allow the other 13 council members to review the resolution, amid indications that a meeting of foreign ministers might take place next week.

The text, of which AFP obtained a copy, “reiterates… strong support for full respect for the Blue Line” marking the border between Lebanon and Israel.

It also “calls for Israel and Lebanon to support a permanent ceasefire and a long-term solution based on the following principles and elements:

– strict respect by all parties for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Israel and Lebanon;

– delineation of the international borders of Lebanon, especially in those areas where the border is disputed or uncertain, including in the Shebaa Farms area;

– security arrangements to prevent the resumption of hostilities, including the establishment between the Blue Line and the Litani river of an area free of any armed personnel, assets and weapons other than those of the Lebanese armed and security forces and of UN-mandated international forces deployed in this area;

– full implementation of the relevant provisions of the Taif Accords and of resolutions 1559 (2004) and 1680 (2006) that require the disarmament of all armed groups in Lebanon, so that, pursuant to the Lebanese cabinet decision of July 27, 2006, there will be no weapons or authority in Lebanon other than that of the Lebanese state;

– deployment of an international force in Lebanon… ;

– establishment of an international embargo on the sale or

supply of arms and related material to Lebanon except as authorized by its government; and

– elimination of foreign forces in Lebanon without the consent

of its government.”

In Texas, where he was vacationing, US President George W. Bush was “happy” with the draft UN resolution on the Middle East conflict, his spokesman said.
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