Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul Gheit said Sunday that the draft UN
Security Council resolution, submitted by the U.S. and France, had to meet the
Lebanese people's aspirations if it wanted to bring a permanent end to the
Israeli-Hezbollah conflict.
The draft resolution should included a mechanism for a prisoner swap, and
address the disputed Shebaa Farms occupied by Israel, he told the official MENA
news agency.
Abul Gheit said that the Arab foreign ministers' meeting in Beirut on Monday,
which coincides with the UN Security Council discussions of the draft
resolution, would show solidarity with Lebanon.
Arabs backed the seven-point peace plan which Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad
Seniora presented to an international conference in Rome on July 26, said Abul
Gheit.
He noted that the proposed multinational forces for Lebanon must have a
clear-cut mandate and that the force had to be peacekeeping rather than peace
imposing.
The force should also be under the UN umbrella with the approval of all
parties concerned including Hezbollah, said Abul Gheit.
Violence between Israel and Lebanese Hezbollah erupted on July12 after
Hezbollah guerrillas captured two Israeli soldiers and killed eight during
cross-border attacks.
Diplomatic efforts are underway to stop the conflict which entered its 26th
day on Sunday, as some 900 Lebanese and over 90Israelis have been killed in the
violence so far.
