Israel's PM Claims Offensive A Success
Ehud Olmert said Monday he takes sole responsibility, as Israel's prime minister, for the offensive against Lebanon, and claimed the operation was a success.
In a political statement to parliament, Olmert said the U.N. cease-fire agreement that went into effect earlier Monday eliminated the "state within a state" run by Hezbollah, and restored Lebanon's sovereignty in the south.
He also said the war brought a change in the strategic balance in the region, to Hezbollah's disadvantage. The militia's storehouse of weapons was mostly destroyed, and its self-confidence undermined, he said.
Several legislators ejected from Knesset for heckling prime minister.
Meanwhile, Lebanese civilians streamed back to their homes Monday after a U.N. cease-fire halted fighting in a month-long conflict between Israel and Hezbollah guerrillas that has claimed more than 900 lives and sent people fleeing on both sides of the border. Israelis also emerged emerging from bomb shelters, as Hezbollah rockets stopped falling on northern cities, reports CBS News correspondent Robert Berger.
Lebanese, Israeli and U.N. officers met on the border Monday to discuss the withdrawal of Israeli forces from southern Lebanon and the deployment of the Lebanese army in the war-ravaged region, a U.N. spokesman said.
In other developments:
Olmert said the war brought a change in the strategic balance in the region, to Hezbollah's disadvantage. The militia's vast storehouse of weapons was mostly destroyed, and its self-confidence undermined, he said.
"We will continue to pursue them everywhere and at all times," he said. "We have no intention of asking anyone's permission."
He advised patience for his critics who believe that the war fell short of Israel's original goal of dismantling Hezbollah.
He also promised to do everything he could to win the return of Israeli soldiers captured by Hezbollah on July 12, which triggered the war.
Israel is skeptical about the cease-fire, reports Berger. One newspaper headline said the government expects the truce to fail. In northern Israel, shops were opening, as war-weary civilians on both sides of the border are breathing a sigh of relief.
Earlier Monday, Israeli Defense Minister Amir Peretz promised "We have no intention of sinking in the Lebanese quagmire."
Several incidents Monday morning marred the cease-fire, as Israeli soldiers fired upon groups or individual Hezbollah guerrillas approaching their positions.
Cease-fires in the region are what a cabinet minister called "phased relaxation," reports CBS News correspondent Allen Pizzey.
Some 30,000 Israeli forces remained in Lebanon and Hezbollah's leader, Sheik Hassan Nasrallah, said the militia would consider them legitimate targets until they withdraw from the country. The next step — sending in a peacekeeping mission — still appeared days away.
A Lebanese cabinet minister told Europe-1 radio in France that Lebanese soldiers could move into the southern part of the country as early as Wednesday. The U.N. plan calls for a 30,000-member, joint Lebanese-international force to move south of the Litani River, about 18 miles from the Israeli border, and stand as a buffer between Israel and Hezbollah militia.
"The Lebanese army is readying itself along the Litani to cross the river in 48 to 72 hours," said Lebanon's communications minister, Marwan Hamade.
The deployment of the Lebanese troops and U.N. peacekeepers was a cornerstone of the cease-fire resolution passed Friday by the U.N. Security Council. France, Italy, Turkey and Malaysia have signaled a willingness to contribute troops, but consultations are still needed to hammer out the force's makeup and mandate.
Officials said Israeli troops would begin pulling out as soon as the Lebanese and international troops start deploying to the area. But it appeared Israeli forces were staying put for the moment. Some exhausted soldiers left Lebanon early Monday, but were being replaced by fresh troops.
Israel also would maintain its air and sea blockade of Lebanon to prevent arms from reaching Hezbollah guerrillas, army officials said.
Hezbollah distributed leaflets congratulating Lebanon on its "big victory" and thanking citizens for their patience during the fighting, which began July 12 when guerrillas killed three Israeli soldiers and captured two others in a cross-border raid.
Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Mark Regev said Hezbollah's "state within a state" had been destroyed, along with its ability to fire at Israeli soldiers across the border.
"Both sides will claim victory but recognize further conflict has no benefit. As long as Hezbollah is somewhat constrained, as it was before, Israel can deal with the outcome," Michael O'Hanlon, a foreign policy senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, said on CBS News' The Early Show. "We have to watch both sides to see if they can keep the cease-fire intact in the next few hours and days and what happens over the next month."