Special report: Israel-Lebanon conflicts [Gallery] [Videos]

Israel, Lebanon agree on ceasefire

    JERUSALEM, Oct. 19 (Xinhua) -- Israeli Foreign Minister TzipiLivni said Thursday that Israel's July-August war with Lebanese Hezbollah has had its mark in that country as Lebanese officials had called for peace talks with Israel, local newspaper Jerusalem Post reported.

    "There is no doubt that (the war) dramatically changed the rule of the game in Lebanon, and the best proof of that is the Lebanese parliament speaker's statement and other voices that are being heard in Lebanon," Livni was quoted as saying.

    Berri, who is also the leader of the Amal movement which competes with Hezbollah for the support of Lebanon's Shi'ite population, told al-Arabiya newspaper Thursday in Paris that "now is the time to raise the issue to returning to peace negotiations(with Israel)."

    It is the first time that Berri called in public for peace talks with Israel.

    Livni believed that Israel would gain further strategic achievement if Berri's appealing lead to diplomatic negotiations between the two countries.

    Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert also responded during his visit to Russia, saying that he would be happy to meet with "(Prime Minister Fouad) Siniora or any other Lebanese government official who is authorized to talk peace with Israel."

    Israel began launching military offensives in south Lebanon on July 12 after Lebanese Hezbollah guerrillas kidnapped two Israeli soldiers and killed eight others during cross-border attacks.

    The 34-day-long Israel-Hezbollah conflict ended on Aug. 14 after Israel agreed to bow to a UN-brokered truce without retrieving the two captive soldiers and disarming the Lebanese Shiite group Hezbollah. Enditem