THE ISRAELI Prime Minister, Mr Shimon Peres, sounded a conciliatory note yesterday, saying he would be willing to engage in diplomatic efforts to end Israel's air blitz of Lebanon which entered its' sixth day yesterday.
While Mr Peres said Israel" would "not take the initiative to start negotiations" he said that "if a proposal to negotiate came, why not?" Shortly after the prime minister's statements, though, it emerged that Israel had already handed a draft proposal to the United States, outlining its conditions for an end to hostilities.
Besides reiterating Israel's pledge to cease its aerial bombardment if Hizbullah guerrillas refrained from rocketing civilian settlements in northern Israel, Mr Peres said "Operation Grapes of Wrath" had a further aim to prevent the Hizbullah from using civilian settlements in south Lebanon as bases from which to launch attacks on Israeli soldiers in what Israel calls the south Lebanon security zone.
A US brokered understanding after a similar Israeli assault in Lebanon in 1993, barred Hizbullah from firing at civilians in northern Israel, but not Israeli troops in the security zone.
Mr Peres has so far refrained from detailing too specifically the political and military goals of "Operation Grapes of Wrath", fearing that the government will become trapped by its commitments and get bogged down in Lebanon. "If we state what our exact conditions are then we will become prisoners to these conditions," said the Minister without Portfolio, Mr Yossi Beilin, who is a close aide to Mr Peres.
In addition to limiting Hizbullah activity in its security zone, Israel is also attempting to get Syria, which has 40,000 troops in Lebanon and effectively pulls the political strings in Beirut, to guarantee the new understandings it has proposed and ensure quiet in the south.
