•  united nations
• Friday, July 22, 2011
• Inter Press Service

Israel and Lebanon should increase their commitment to the mandates of Security Council Resolution 1701 of 2006 and reach an agreement for a ceasefire in the common border, the Special Coordinator of the Secretary General for Lebanon, Michael Williams, told reporters Thursday.

'There has been little or no movement for a ceasefire. In recent months it has become more difficult because there was a period of about six months when there was no government in Lebanon. Now we have a government, approved by the Parliament on July 7', said Williams.

The UN envoy recognised the contributions made by both countries and, at the same time, he encouraged them to move forward on a peace accord.

The resolution 1701, adopted on 11 August 2006, calls for a cessation of hostilities between Lebanon and Israel and the end of the attacks by Hezbollah. It also calls Lebanon and Israel to support a permanent ceasefire, respect for their borders and special security arrangements.

Besides the political and military tensions, and some incidents between the two co0untries, said Williams, Resolution 1701 has held well by both sides of the conflict if compared with what happened between Israel and Lebanon in the previous 20 or 30 years.

Regarding the presence of weapons in Lebanon, he stated the support of the United Nations and in particular Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon, for a national dialogue.

'Here we are not talking just about the Hezbollah arms, but also the Palestinian groups, Fatah. In that respect, decisions were taken in 2006 and these groups should be disarmed', he added.

© Inter Press Service (2011) — All Rights Reserved. Original source: Inter Press Service

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