Ceasefire in Lebanon

It is, however, good news that the warring parties agreed to a ceasefire when the possibility of a humanitarian disaster of unprecedented magnitude was looming large on Lebanon. As long as the ceasefire holds, there will be hopefully no civilian casualties in Beirut and other Lebanese towns. It is difficult to be highly optimistic about the future of peace as Israel is not known for its respect for internationally accepted agreements.

The UN and world leaders will have to work hard to prevent the possibility of a relapse into hostilities as some tricky issues need to be resolved before peace can attain a minimum degree of durability. Israel wants deployment of an international force and disarming of Hezbollah as precondition for abandoning its kill-and-destroy mission. The Hezbollah chief, on the other hand, has claimed that they will continue to fight as long as Israeli troops remain in Lebanon. Israel's stand on Hezbollah is understandable, as it has faced stiff resistance from the militant group during the month-long war. By applying disproportionate force and thus convincing the people of Lebanon that Hezbollah was their only saviour, Tel Aviv has actually created a situation where it will not at all be easy to leave Hezbollah out of any negotiations. Of course, the interpretation of the present crisis will be different if Israel wants to eliminate all the forces that might challenge its military supremacy in the region -- an objective that its western allies have been supporting rather unconditionally.

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Much will now depend on the Lebanese government. Prime Minister Fuad Siniora has a difficult decision to make because giving Israel a freehand, through removing whatever resistance it is facing, might not mean lasting peace for his country.

The international community can ask for disarming Hezbollah only when it can guarantee that no Arab nation will fall victim to Israel's lust for territorial expansion in future.