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

Israel to resume talks with UNIFIL over final withdrawal from Lebanon

    JERUSALEM, Oct. 13 (Xinhua) -- Talks over Israel Defense Forces' (IDF) final withdrawal from the split Lebanese town of Ghajar are to resume next week, the Jerusalem Post reported on Friday.

    The report said the IDF will hold talks with UNIFIL, the UN peacekeepers, next week, and IDF officials were optimistic on a solution that will be found to remove Israel's final military presence from southern Lebanon. Full Story

Protestors rally in Jerusalem for full-scale war inquiry

   JERUSALEM, Oct. 12 (Xinhua) -- About 1,000 protestors rallied outside Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's residence in Jerusalem, demanding the government to launch a full-scale state inquiry into handling of the July-August Israel-Hezbollah conflict.

   The protestors lit torches and chanted "Olmert go home", while calling army's Chief of Staff Dan Halutz, Defense Minister Amir Peretz and Olmert "inquiry dodgers", referring Olmert's declining to establish a state inquiry commission with the power of dismissing top officials. Full Story

Israel's State Comptroller assigns team to probe Israel-Hezbollah conflict

    JERUSALEM, Oct. 6 (Xinhua) -- Israel's State Comptroller Micha Lindenstrauss has appointed a team of 50 staff members to look into the government and army's handling of the July-August Israel-Hezbollah fighting, local newspaper Ha'aretz reported on Friday.

    Lindenstrauss and his office's security chief met on Thursday with high-ranking officials from the Israel Defense Forces (IDF),police units, the cabinet as well as heads of northern communities for inquiry, said the report. Full Story