Arab FMs hold emergency meeting in Cairo over Israeli assault on Lebanon

15 July 2006

CAIRO, Egypt - Foreign ministers of 18 Arab countries held an emergency summit in Cairo on Saturday over Israel’s expanding assault on Lebanon - the worst Israeli attack on its neighbour in 24 years.

Lebanese Foreign Minister Fawzi Salloukh presented his fellow Arab League members with a draft resolution condemning Israel’s military offensive and supporting Lebanon’s “right to resist occupation by all legitimate means.”

The draft , a copy of which obtained by The Associated Press, also said the Arab League demanded the release of Lebanese captives and detainees in Israeli prisons, and supported Lebanon’s right to “liberate them by all legitimate means.”

Salloukh told reporters on Friday that he was “expecting Arab support from this malicious Israeli aggression.”

“We call for mobilization to remove the Israeli aggression from Lebanon, which is considered a sinful and barbaric attack that breaches the international conventions,” he told reporters Friday upon arriving in Cairo. Salloukh also repeated his government’s call for UN Security Council intervention.

Arab League secretary-general Amr Moussa issued a statement Friday calling on Israel to halt its military operations in Lebanon, and asking the UN Security Council to intervene. He met late Friday with UN officials in Cairo, including UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan’s special envoy, Terje Roed-Larsen.

Israeli warplanes renewed attacks on Lebanon early Saturday, targeting bridges and fuel storage tanks and gas stations in the east and south, security officials said.

Israel launched its offensive after Hezbollah guerrillas crossed the Israel-Lebanon border on Wednesday and captured two Israeli soldiers. Israel has bombarded Lebanon’s airport and main roads and destroyed Hezbollah’s headquarters in south Beirut. Hezbollah has responded by launching hundreds of rockets into Israel.

At least 73 Lebanese have died, most of the them civilians in the four-day Israeli offensive. Eight Israeli soldiers and four civilians have been killed in the fighting, and the loss of the sailors threatened to drive the death toll higher.