"There was never an agreement more favorable to Israel,” said Israeli defense minister Amir Peretz about the United Nations (UN) ‘ceasefire’ agreement. Such words sound ominous to the ears of the Lebanese people, who suffered under eighteen years of military occupation by Israel due to a number of agreements ‘favorable to Israel’.
Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) Executive Committee Political Bureau member, Taysir Khalid, is inclined to agree that the agreement favors Israel, saying it "gives Israel a green light to continue its aggression against the Lebanese people."
Khalid said Saturday that UN Security Council Resolution 1701, which calls for an immediate cessation of hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah leaves the doors open to military and political manipulation, a fact that was recognized and lauded by a number of Israeli leaders, including the above-quoted Defense Minister, Amir Peretz.
“The government of Israel immediately recognized that the resolution does not prevent it from continuing its aggression and hence the decision to expand the scope of its war and areas of hostilities, leading at the minimum to Lebanon’s Litani River. Israel will be able to impose its own interpretation of the resolution and its implementation mechanisms. There will now be enough time for Israeli forces to continue the attacks against the people of southern Lebanon, destroy the resistance, and take the country itself into political upheaval.”
Khalid added that the current U.S. administration has made a “complex political maneuver by directing the resolution to give Israel more ability to continue its attacks under the pretext of ‘self-defense.’”
The U.S. routinely uses its veto power in the United Nations to overrule resolutions that make demands on Israel.
In concluding his statement, Taysir Khalid appealed to all Lebanese parties to be vigilant and cautious in regarding this ‘ceasefire agreement’.
As an unnamed Israeli soldier told the press last week: "This war is designed to create America’s version of the ‘new’ Middle East".
