With President Bush and Prime Minister Blair both away on holiday (note: not together) people at the United Nations had finally came to their senses and came to an agreement for an immediate ceasefire in the fight between Israel and Hezbullah in Lebanon.
In the past the UK and USA (along with Israel & Germany) were the only countries to oppose an immediate ceasefire. Both UK and USA are permanent members of the UN Security Council and so have a powerful sway on how the UN is run.
France stood strong and came to the rescue and with the USA provided the draft for the council to agree. Well-done Monsieurs!
It is a shame that this has taken so long to implement.
Source: BBC
At the UN special meeting Kofu Annan said the following: "I did not tell you how profoundly disappointed I am that the Council did not reach this point much, much earlier. And I am convinced that my disappointment and sense of frustration are shared by hundreds of millions of people around the world.
Although the resolution 1701 is being implemented and both Israel and Hezbullah have agreed to the ceasefire there is quite a lot of work to be done. For it to be truly effective, the Israel troops needs to get out of Lebanon and return the Shebba Farms area to Lebanon. Israel will also need to release all the prisoners that they ambushed when they illegally occupied Lebanon (1982-2000) and then Hezbullah should also disarm (as there would be no need for their military existence).
I hope this will be the start of the peace in the region. I hope both parties do as they are told and let people go back to normality. At the moment the cease-fire is at a very fickle stage. It will probably take a few days before the ceasefire is truly acknowledged by the Lebanese citizens. Let us all pray for long lasting peace.
Secretary-General's statement: http://www.un.org/apps/sg/sgstats.asp?nid=2163
UN Resolution 1770 : United Nations (PDF) / BBC (Html)
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