Siniora: Israel endangering ceasefire
Y-Net :: 28 September 2006
 |
 |
Lebanon’s prime minister tells EU Parliament ‘in order for ceasefire agreement to survive, Israel must withdraw from Lebanon without delay.’ It is not enough to solve crisis between Israel and Hizbullah, but entire Palestinian problem must be solved too, he adds
During an address before the European Parliament in Strasburg, Lebanese Prime Minister Fuad Siniora called on Israel not to delay their withdrawal from south Lebanon and to leave without delay, this despite statements by Defense Minister Amir Peretz to fully withdraw from Lebanon by the beginning of next week.
During his speech, Siniora had to field difficult questions from Parliament members. Hans-Gert Poettering, chairman of the European People’s Party asked Siniora: “in Lebanon you have something like a state within a state. It is unacceptable for us … This would be unacceptable anywhere. We have great misgivings about this kind of things. ”
Siniora responded that the Lebanese were doing “all they can” to ensure the government had authority over the entire territory of the country and no armed group other than the Lebanese army held weapons.
Siniora called on the European Union on Wednesday to put pressure on the United States to play a more constructive role in achieving peace in the Middle East. Siniora said the Arab and Muslim worlds were at a crossroads that could either lead to peace or further extremism. Siniora said what was needed was not only a fair implementation of the UN Security Council resolution to end the Israeli-Hizbullah conflict, but a resumption of the peace process to create a viable Palestinian state.
Recent Comments