Israel Matzav

Siniora won't talk to Israel; Annan cannot confirm troops alive

Lebanese President Fuad Siniora continues to allow his strings to be pulled by Hezbullah, as he rejected an overture for talks from lame-duck Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert:

"Let it be clear, we are not seeking any agreement until there is just and comprehensive peace based on the Arab initiative," he said.

Saniora was responding to comments made earlier by Prime Minister Ehud Olmert in which he expressed hope that the UN cease-fire deal would be the "cornerstone of the start of new relations with Lebanon."

"We hope conditions would rapidly change to enable direct contacts with the government of Lebanon," Olmert said during a press conference with UN Secretary General Kofi Annan after the two met in the prime minister's Jerusalem office.

Lebanon is Hezbullah and Hezbullah is Lebanon.

In the meantime, UN Secretary General Kofi Annan (whose name means - as someone pointed out to me this week - "I am a monkey" in Aramaic), cannot even confirm that Israel's captured soldiers are alive, leaving us to depend on Jesse Jackson, whose history with the Jews leaves a lot to be desired.

Annan told reporters that he was under the impression that kidnapped IDF soldiers Ehud Goldwasser and Eldad Regev were alive, but stopped short of confirming it. He was referring to a statement by US civil rights activist Rev. Jesse Jackson, who met Syrian and Hamas leaders in Damascus and said that the soldiers were "alive and well."

...

According to Annan, during his meeting with Lebanese leaders in Beirut, he demanded an immediate and unconditional release of the kidnapped troops held by Hizbullah. The UN chief commented that he was of the impression that they were serious about solving the problem.

I don't find Annan's 'impressions' very reassuring. If Hezbullah were really 'serious' about solving the problem, it could be solved already.

Annan also continues to try to shirk what the US intended from resolution 1701:

After meeting the prime minister, Annan also said that there could be some flexibility in the issue of supervising Lebanon's entry points to prevent the transfer of arms to Hizbullah, primarily from Syria. The deployment of international troops at those points is not the only solution, he said.

Annan called on Israel to lift its blockade of Lebanon, saying it was necessary to help Lebanon's economy recover from the war. He said that the Lebanese authorities had assured him they were taking measures to stop the flow of weapons into the country, and that he believed Israel's security concerns could be addressed.

Even Olmert isn't stupid enough to fall for that one understands that Israelis won't tolerate him agreeing to that that one.

Olmert rejected the plea, saying only that he expected a full implementation of the cease-fire.

Israel has said it would not lift its blockade unless international forces, along with Lebanese troops, were deployed on the Lebanon-Syria border to prevent the transfer of weapons from Syria to Hizbullah guerrillas. Lebanon has said it would deploy its own forces there, but not international troops, and Annan has backed that approach.

And Annan's next stop is Iran....

Asked by a reporter why he was going to Iran, a country whose leader has called for the destruction of Israel, Annan replied, "As the secretary-general of the UN, it is my responsibility to speak with anybody who can help us improve the situation. If I can't have a discussion with Ahmandinejad, how else could I relay the message that what he is saying is wrong."

How about from a fighter bomber?

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 2:51 PM