Special Report: New clash between Israeli, Lebanese troops Photo Gallery>> Watch video>> (1) (2)
Smoke rises from the Jiyeh power station in southern Beirut as Israeli airstrikes on Lebanon entered its fifth day on Sunday and more than 100 Lebanese people, mostly civilians, have been killed. The Arab satellite TV channel Al-Jazeera reported on Sunday that Israeli warplanes struk the Jiyeh power station in southern Beirut and the plant was in flames in the early hours of the morning on July 16, 2006.(Xinhua/AFP Photo) |
JERUSALEM, July 16 (Xinhua) -- Israeli Foreign
Minister Tzipi Livni said on Sunday that Israel agreed to a statement issued by
the Group of Eight industrialized nations which blamed "extremists" for the
escalating violence in Lebanon.
"Israel concurs with the
position of the international community, which places responsibility for the
conflict on extremist elements," Livni said in a statement cited by local
newspaper Ha'aretz.
"(Israel) sees the path to a solution through the
release of the abducted soldiers, a cessation of rocket fire on Israel and a
full implementation of UN Resolution 1559," she added. The resolution, adopted
in September 2004, demands the disarmament of all militia in Lebanon. The Shiite
Hizbollah is the only armed militant group in Lebanon.
"Israel will cooperate with international parties to
turn these principles into concrete diplomatic action," Livni said.
Earlier in the day, leaders of the G8 countries
issued a statement in St. Petersburg, Russia, which calls for the release of two
Israeli soldiers seized by Hizbollah militia, an end to Hizbollah rocket attacks
against Israel while blaming "extremists" for the escalating violence.
The leaders, meanwhile, also urged Israel to exercise
restraint. Israel has started a massive assault in Lebanon after Hizbollah
militia snatched the two Israeli soldiers during cross-border clashes on
Wednesday.
Lebanon has effectively been under an Israeli air,
ground and sea blockade since then.
Over 100 Lebanese, most of them civilians, have been
killed and hundreds more wounded in the five-day-old Israeli offensive, while 24
Israelis including 12 civilians have been killed and scores of others wounded in
the violence with Hizbollah. Enditem
Related: G8 urges halt to violence in Middle East, restraint from Israel
(From L to R) Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, British Prime Minister Tony Blair, French President Jacques Chirac, Russian President Vladimir Putin, US President George W. Bush, Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, Finnish Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen and European Union Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso pose for a group photo at Constantine Palace in St. Petersburg, Russia, July 16, 2006.(Xinhua Photo) |
ST. PETERSBURG, Russia, July 16 (Xinhua) -- Leaders meeting at the summit of Group of Eight (G8) world powers on Sunday called for an end to the spiraling violence in the Middle East and urged Israel to exercise restraint in self-defense amid a crisis that has left dozens dead.
The latest upsurge of violence in the Middle East was a last-minute addition to the agenda of the summit as Israel waged massive air raids and imposed sea blockade on Lebanon in response to rockets attacks by Hezbollah militants who kidnapped two Israeli soldiers and killed eight others on Wednesday.
A statement issued by the G8 leaders expressed their "deepening concern" about the situation in the Middle East.
The statement described Hamas elements launching rocket attacks against Israel and Hezbollah militants as "extremists," saying they "must immediately halt their attacks." Full story>>
