Since 17 and 18 September when pagers and two-way radios filled with explosives detonated across Lebanon among members of the Hezbollah militia, there have been fears of a full-scale conflict between Israeli and Hezbollah forces within Lebanon. Hezbollah is supported by Iran but not fully under Iranian control. Nevertheless if Israeli forces were to enter Lebanon as they did in 1982 and 2006, Iran could be drawn into the conflict. In a response to the 17 and 18 September attacks, Hezbollah has responded with a shower of rocket and drone attacks against Israel, such as the rockets fired at Israel's Ramat David airforce base. Israeli-Hezbollah hostilities had aready led to the evacuation of some 80,000 Israelis from northern Israel and some 110,000 Lebanese from their side of the border area.
Hassan Nasrallah, the Secretary-General of Hezbollah has in recent days made widely watched television talks attacking Israeli politics and indicating continuing Hezbollah support for the Palestinians in Gaza saying that a ceasefire was necessary before any negotiations could take place. Recent tensions between Israeli settlers, Israeli soldiers and Palestinians in the West Bank have added to the tensions bringing them potentially to the "boiling point." Conflict has developed and become more dangerous as fear, resentment and bitterness has grown.
The U.S. government has said that it did not want to see an escalation of tensions in the region to the point of rendering diplomatic solutions impossible. However more than good advice from major countries is needed. There should be efforts at mediation either by the United Nations, where these days there are many high level representatives in New York for the U.N. General Assembly, or by individual countries. France seems to have taken some steps but has not made public their initiative. France has historic links to Lebanon, and there are some 700 French soldiers in the U.N. forces (FINUL) on the Lebanon-Israel frontier. There are some 10,000 members of the FINUL from 40 countries
There may be some role for non-official mediation carried out by groups representing religious, academic or charitable organizations. One advantage of non-official mediation is that all concerned are aware that such mediation is genuinely impartial seeking only a reduction of suffering caused by the conflicts. The disadvantage is that it lacks the resources, political, economic or military on which governmental mediators can draw. Non-official mediation may remove some obstacles on the path to peace negotiations. There are a good number of representatives of non-governmental organizations in consultative status with the U.N. in New York these days for the Summit for the Future. Discussions of what is possible in the Middle East can be a focus for action.
René Wadlow, Association of World Citizens
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