BEIRUT — After more than two weeks of fierce fighting between Israeli forces and Hezbollah guerrillas, leaders from the Middle East to Washington and the United Nations signaled a sense of urgency Friday to end the conflict.
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice returns to the region today for the second round of diplomacy in a week. In the hours before her arrival, Hezbollah political leaders here reversed course and agreed to join a Lebanese government proposal aimed at stopping the fighting in the country's south.
For The Record
Los Angeles Times Wednesday August 02, 2006 Home Edition Main News Part A Page 2 National Desk 1 inches; 37 words Type of Material: Correction
Middle East warfare: A Page One headline on Saturday saying "Israel Rejects Peace Offer" inaccurately summarized Israel's response to Lebanon's seven-point proposal. No formal offer had been presented to the Israeli government, so none had been rejected.
Israel dismissed Hezbollah's offer as disingenuous and said it was an indication of the guerrillas' weakness on the battlefield. But the Shiite Muslim militia's willingness to participate in the initiative shows a flexibility to negotiate not previously evident as the fighting raged in southern Lebanon.
As diplomacy appeared to gain pace Friday, President Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair, meeting at the White House, announced that they would push for a United Nations resolution next week to send an international force to southern Lebanon. But both leaders again refused to press for a cease-fire until Hezbollah was disarmed.
At the U.N., Secretary-General Kofi Annan and other diplomats said discussions were underway on a possible temporary truce of 72 hours to allow the world body to evacuate children, the elderly and the disabled from southern Lebanon; on the formation of an international force; and on the terms of a cease-fire.
"A cease-fire in these situations will have to be negotiated. I called for cessation of hostilities, which, hopefully, will lead to cease-fire," Annan said, noting that a temporary truce was necessary both for humanitarian work and to bring in any international force.
Annan and the U.N. humanitarian chief, Jan Egeland, expressed impatience over the international community's inability to agree more quickly on a strategy to stop the fighting.
"Many battles are being fought on the soil of Lebanon and some have absolutely nothing to do with Lebanon," Annan said.
The Lebanese government has proposed a seven-point peace plan, now endorsed by Hezbollah, but it is unlikely to satisfy Israeli or U.S. officials.
"We'd take anything that Hezbollah says with a grain of salt," Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Mark Regev said. Referring to international talks this week in Rome, he added, "If they say they are on board with what was presented in Rome by the Lebanese government, I think they are being disingenuous."
