Cease-fire over?

Hezbollah says its guerrillas foil Israeli commando raid in eastern Lebanon(updated 02:50 p.m.)

2006/8/19
BEIRUT, Lebanon (AP)

Hezbollah said its guerrillas have foiled an Israeli commando raid early Saturday west of their stronghold of Baalbek deep inside Lebanon after a gunbattle that left Israeli casualties. Israel's army said it was looking into the report.

Lebanese security officials confirmed the Hezbollah TV report of a drop of Israeli commandos by helicopter on a hill outside the village of Boudai west of Baalbek in eastern Lebanon.

The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to release information to the media, said the Israelis apparently were seeking a guerrilla target in a school but had no other details.

The officials also reported heavy Israeli overflights.

The provincial government official, Bekaa Valley Gov. Antoine Suleiman, confirmed an Israeli troop landing. He told the privately owned Voice of Lebanon radio station that the landing party brought with it two vehicles that were later withdrawn after clashes.

Story continues: China Post

Let us all pray this incident won't have any effect on the cease-fire. Does anyone have been able to find reactions on this by Israeli/Lebanese or other officials?




[edit on 19-8-2006 by Mdv2]

mod edit: quote clarity

[edit on 19-8-2006 by sanctum]

The Lebanese Prime Minister, Fouad Siniora, has described an Israeli commando raid in Lebanon as a naked violation of the UN-brokered ceasefire.

It is understood that one Israeli soldier and three Hezbollah fighters were killed in the operation in the Bekaa Valley - the first big attack since the truce came into force five days ago.

The Israeli army said the raid, which involved aircraft and commandos, was aimed at disrupting the shipment of weapons to Hezbollah from Syria and Iran.

....

Full story

Looks that way. We'll have to wait and see if Hezbollah responds with force.

Lebanon ceasefire shaken by Israeli commando raid Lebanon Daily Star

Neither side has much faith in UN resolution 1701, so it would it seem to be doomed to failure. The UN is also having a hard time filling its request for 15,000 troops. France went from agreeing to supply 3500 units down to 200, and that action tells us how France views the success of this resolution.

[edit on 19-8-2006 by Regenmacher]

"Cease-fire over?"


A Deja-vu repeated more times than anyone alive can recall. The only reason any side who claims the "holy land" agrees to a cease-fire is because they need a time out to get more weaponry to kill more the next time.

Humanity. 7,000+ years of recorded/written history that is devoid of 7 consecutive days without war, killing, and destruction. What kind of "Holy Land" are we worthy of?

The one we have.

Looks like everybody is gearing up for round 2.

Originally posted by Regenmacher
The UN is also having a hard time filling its request for 15,000 troops. France went from agreeing to supply 3500 units down to 200, and that action tells us how France views the success of this resolution.

And those 200 will be "engineers", not peacekeepers. They said they will have another 1500 offshore engaged in "logistical operations?.

Hezbollah taunted Israel earlier in the week, firing Katushyas into southern Lebanon:

Hezbollah’s rockets break cease-fire but fall short of Israel
By Associated Press
Tuesday, August 15, 2006 - Updated: 01:29 PM EST

JERUSALEM - Hezbollah guerillas fired at least 10 katyusha rockets into southern Lebanon early today, the Israeli army said, throwing into question the viability of a tenuous day-old cease-fire.

The rocket explosions reported by Israel came hours after the start of a U.N. cease-fire in Lebanon. None of the rockets reached Israel and no injuries were reported. Hezbollah, which frequently used the katyusha rockets in its battle against the Jewish state, has said it will attack Israeli forces in southern Lebanon despite the truce. The Israeli military said it had not responded to the rockets.


news.bostonherald.com...

Could this be viewed as breaking the cease fire? I think so.

Originally posted by jsobecky
And those 200 will be "engineers", not peacekeepers. They said they will have another 1500 offshore engaged in "logistical operations?.

"Logistical operations" must be French code for " Fishing for bluefin and drinking Uzo near Cyprus."
---------------

Beirut fury at 'ceasefire breach' BBC

Here's a new site that has Lebanese, Israeli and Palestinian bloggers:
truthlaidbear.com...

It seems that both parties are trying to manipulate the peace process by breaking the cease-fire. Possibly this would mean Italy and other nations which promised to send peace keeping forces will return to that decision.

More on this:

Beirut fury at 'ceasefire breach'

The commandos were airlifted from a cornfield, witnesses say
Lebanese PM Fouad Siniora has accused Israel of a "naked violation" of the five-day-old ceasefire, after a raid by Israeli commandos deep inside Lebanon.
The raid, in the eastern Bekaa Valley, left one Israeli dead and two injured.

Israel said it was trying to disrupt the movement of weapons from Iran and Syria to Hezbollah, and insisted the ceasefire was still intact.

Source.

It seems there is a distinction between action against Hezbollah as an entity, and those who are accused of smuggling weapons to them, even though the battle field remains the same. IMO a ceasefire is worthless if Israel is allowed to make distinctions such as this to justify military actions of any kind, in a land where a ceasefire is supposed to be in place. However, did anyone with even the very most basic understanding of the regions history think this ceasefire would last for any significant amount of time?

Originally posted by Implosion
However, did anyone with even the very most basic understanding of the regions history think this ceasefire would last for any significant amount of time?

Many on this thread didn't think the resolution would last, before it was put into effect.

ATS: Israeli Cease Fire Begins Monday

Originally posted by Implosion
It seems there is a distinction between action against Hezbollah as an entity, and those who are accused of smuggling weapons to them, even though the battle field remains the same. IMO a ceasefire is worthless if Israel is allowed to make distinctions such as this to justify military actions of any kind, in a land where a ceasefire is supposed to be in place. However, did anyone with even the very most basic understanding of the regions history think this ceasefire would last for any significant amount of time?

Well, Israel didn't fire any shots, did they? And as far as them not supposed to be being there in the first place, well that distinction belongs to Hezbollah.

But, to answer your final question, no, I never gave it a chance of lasting.

Originally posted by jsobecky
Well, Israel didn't fire any shots, did they?

Well, I think they probably did, unless of course this was the most one sided "gun battle" in history.

The Israelis seem to have met more resistance than they expected, with one local fighter describing a gun battle lasting more than two hours, says the BBC's Jon Leyne at the scene.

Quoted from the BBC News page linked above.

[edit on 19/8/06 by Implosion]

Why does it not surprise me that the Israelis were the first to break the cease-fire?

There are elements of the Israeli polity that are every bit as fanatical as Hezbollah's most extreme adherents, and unfortunately, they have the upper hand, especially in the IDF.

Israel is not going to let this cease-fire hold while they still feel under threat, and I'm afraid that for some Israelis, that means as long as there is still a single Muslim left alive in Lebanon.

This is an interesting piece from Reuters:

today.reuters.com... -2

"JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israel objects to including countries that do not have diplomatic relations with the Jewish state in a planned United Nations force for southern Lebanon, the country's ambassador to the United Nations said on Friday."

I'd have thought that countries without diplomatic ties to Israel would be the least likely to bow to Israeli pressure. Anyway, who the hell do the Israelis think they are that they can dictate to the UN about who operates in Lebanon.

When the cease-fire is over, you will know it...you wont even have to ask the question.

These countries that promised help and backed off know that Israel and the US is up to something and they are not gonna risk their men to be blasted to kingdom come by the Israelis. This is not going to hold. Hizbollah is not going to stop re-arming until Israel leaves and Israel is not going to leave because their mission is not done yet. They are still trying to repair their image and at the same time pressure European countries to ban Hizbollah and place them on the terrorist list to try to weaken them and leave Lebanon open for the Israelis.


Was very convenient how they found Lebanese products in with those bombs in Germany the other day. The ones that failed to go off.

Well, I think they probably did, unless of course this was the most one sided "gun battle" in history.

I stand corrected. Thank you.

Originally posted by xmotex
Why does it not surprise me that the Israelis were the first to break the cease-fire?

What about Hezbollah firing Katyushas into southern Lebanon, as I pointed out? Just hours after the ceasefire began.

Edit: Fix typo

[edit on 19-8-2006 by jsobecky]

Exactly...Hexbo fired 10 rockets towards Ishrael on the first day of the cease fire trying to provoke a response but Ishrael refrained. I dont think this incident last night means Ishrael broke the cease fire first by any stretch of the imagination. If Iran and Syria would keep their hands out of things it would go much smoother. They are the source and need to be dealt with. Harshly.

[edit on 19-8-2006 by princeofpeace]

More details:

Blood and bandages at the scene of the Israeli raid were evidence of the haste with which the Israelis had to treat their wounded, the BBC's Jon Leyne reports.

Local people said the Israelis came down from the hills in two jeeps and drove across a cornfield.

The troops then battled Hezbollah forces for more than two hours before being flown out by helicopter while fighter jets provided cover, the villagers said.

There is speculation locally that the Israelis may have been trying to capture a senior Hezbollah figure who lives in the village.

Source.

Israeli commandos raided a Hizbollah stronghold in eastern Lebanon on Saturday, which U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan said violated a U.N.-backed truce that ended Israel's 34-day war with the Shi'ite guerrillas.

"The secretary-general is deeply concerned about a violation by the Israeli side of the cessation of hostilities as laid out in Security Council resolution 1701," a spokesman for Annan said in a statement posted on the United Nations Web site.

Israel said the operation, in which commandos were airlifted into the area by helicopter, was defensive and was designed to disrupt weapons supplies to Hizbollah from Syria and Iran.

It denied it had violated the resolution, which allows it to act in self-defence, and accused Hizbollah of doing so by smuggling weapons.

Source.

Another agreement not worth the paper it's printed on.

SSDD