ISRAEL: Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert sees steps towards ceasefire as battle in southern Lebanon continues

Record ID: 397027

  • Title: ISRAEL: Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert sees steps towards ceasefire as battle in southern Lebanon continues
  • Date: 2nd August 2006
  • Summary: TANK WITH SOLDIERS ON TOP
  • Embargoed: 17th August 2006 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Israel
  • Country: Israel
  • Topics: War / Fighting
  • Reuters ID: LVA2ZMH1ABSLE5O4XYTZ36HHJ3J6
  • Story Text: Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said on Tuesday (August 1) that he saw the beginning of a process that would lead to a ceasefire in Lebanon, saying Hizbollah guerrillas could never threaten the Jewish state again.
    His comments appeared to begin laying the groundwork for the end of fighting with international pressure mounting for a ceasefire and the United Nations trying to pave the way for an international peacekeeping force for south Lebanon.
    Olmert said he had never promised the people of Israel that its offensive would destroy all Hizbollah's missiles, but said the threat from the Shi'ite group had been massively reduced.
    On Tuesday Olmert also boarded an Israeli vessel to help rally some of the military.
    Olmert said that the action Israel takes now, has long-lasting implications.
    "We could have said that there are dramatic achievements and maybe in the future, when we'll have historic perspective, we will say that they changed the conduct of the Middle East," Olmert said.
    On land Israeli forces thrust into Lebanon on Tuesday in an expansion of their offensive, pounding villages and meeting fierce resistance from Hizbollah, but Prime Minister Ehud Olmert signalled a ceasefire may be on the horizon.
    Israeli television said three Israeli soldiers were killed in Tuesday's fighting. Hizbollah said it launched multiple rockets at Matzuva in northern Israel. Israel said nobody was hurt in the barrage, which was less intense than previous days.
    Three weeks after the war erupted when Hizbollah seized two Israeli soldiers in a cross-border raid, Israel's security cabinet agreed to step up its offensive, entailing a ground sweep 6-7 km (4 miles) into Lebanon, a political source said.
    Israel also said it would resume full air strikes in Lebanon early on Wednesday at the end of a partial, 48-hour suspension.
    But Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, who has rejected international calls for an immediate halt to hostilities, said he saw signs of movement toward a ceasefire and that Hizbollah had suffered heavy losses -- comments that appeared to prepare the ground for an end to fighting.
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