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U.N. chief pressures Israel on blockade

By ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published August 30, 2006

JERUSALEM - U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan called Israel's air and sea blockade of Lebanon a "humiliation" Tuesday and demanded it be lifted. But Israel said it first needed assurances that forces deployed on the border can stop weapons shipments to Hezbollah.

The dispute was the latest threat to the fragile cease-fire that ended 34 days of fighting between Israel and Hezbollah guerrillas.

Annan arrived in Israel as part of an 11-day Mideast tour intended to shore up the truce, help Lebanon recover and secure the release of two Israeli soldiers whose capture by Hezbollah on July 12 sparked the fighting.

"We need to resolve the issue of the abducted soldiers very quickly," Annan said during a visit earlier Tuesday to a U.N. base in south Lebanon. "We need to deal with the lifting of the embargo - sea, land and air - which for the Lebanese is a humiliation and an infringement on their sovereignty."

In Israel, Annan met with Defense Minister Amir Peretz and urged the blockade be lifted "as soon as possible in order to allow Lebanon to go on with normal commercial activities and also rebuild its economy."

Israel has said it will allow free movement once it is assured the forces deployed on Lebanon's borders can prevent Hezbollah from rearming itself. Israel wants international forces to help patrol the Lebanon-Syria border to enforce an arms embargo on Hezbollah. Lebanon says its troops can secure the border on their own.

Annan said Israel was responsible for most of the violations of the cease-fire and appealed for everyone to work together to ensure peace holds and "not risk another explosion in six years or 20 years."

Israeli troops are still occupying a security zone in southern Lebanon and have sporadically fought with Hezbollah guerrillas since the truce took effect Aug. 14. Israel says it won't leave until a sufficiently strong contingent of Lebanese and international troops arrives.

Annan said the U.N. hoped to have 5,000 soldiers in the region by Friday. That is double its prewar number, but still far short of the 15,000 international troops eventually supposed to patrol the border along with 15,000 Lebanese soldiers.

As part of the effort to get international troops on the ground quickly, a five-ship Italian fleet left for Lebanon on Tuesday carrying 800 soldiers.

Annan was to meet today with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, who plans to call for "the unconditional return of our captives in Lebanon," said his spokeswoman Miri Eisin, referring to reserve soldiers Ehud Goldwasser and Eldad Regev. A third soldier, Cpl. Gilad Shalit, was captured by Hamas-linked militants from an army post near the Gaza Strip on June 25.

The soldiers' families met with Annan and said that he told them he had no new information about the captives and that there were no negotiations taking place.

Noam Shalit said he asked Annan to raise his son's capture when he goes to Damascus, Syria where Hamas' leadership is based. Annan also is to travel to Iran; Iran and Syria are the main patrons of Hezbollah.

[Last modified August 30, 2006, 00:38:28]