Scotsman- News in brief – 17/07/06
Despite an appeal for a ceasefire by international leaders,
yesterday
the conflict escalated between Israel and Lebanon's Hezbollah movement, when both sides increased their missile attacks and fiery political rhetoric. The Lebanese port of Tyre, was bombed by Israel, killing at least 16 people, in return for a rocket attack by Hezbollah on Israel's northern city, Haifa, in which eight Israelis were killed.
The Israeli Prime
Minister, Ehud Olmert, had warned before a meeting of the Israeli cabinet in Jerusalem that Israel would retaliate for the Hezbollah attack. He said "There will be far-reaching consequences on our relations with the northern border and the area in general." Hours later, at least 16 civilians were killed when Israel targeted the Lebanese port of Tyre.
Leaders of the G8 industrialised nations, at present meeting in St Petersburg, spurred by the mounting violence called on both sides to agree a ceasefire. Jacques Chirac, the French president, last night said, "The entire G8 has called for a ceasefire in Lebanon and Gaza.We have had a single concern: to put an end to the escalation of aggression, to the violence."Privately, British diplomats admit that the attacks will continue until the US sends an unequivocal signal to Israel to halt its operations into Lebanese territory. Speaking at the G8 summit prior to the issuing of the group statement, President George Bush yesterday made clear the US still sympathised with the Israeli position. He said "Our message to Israel is: defend yourself but be mindful of the consequences. So we are urging restraint," said Mr Bush.
The Hezbollah leader, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, said the strike on Haifa was "just the beginning". The fate of up to 15,000 British citizens remains unclear, with several countries scrambling ships to the region ahead of a possible mass evacuation. Foreign Office minister, Kim Howells, warned the operation was going to "take some doing", with two Royal Navy ships not expected to arrive before Wednesday. British ambassador to Lebanon, James Watt, stressed that plans for an evacuation were well under way. While it is expected that two Navy warships will be in position off Lebanon by Wednesday morning, British officials yesterday pointed out that prior to any evacuation, agreement was required from both Israel and Hezbollah that UK personnel could leave the country unharmed.
British military helicopters yesterday flew the European Union's foreign policy chief, Javier Solana, into Beirut to begin negotiating.
Tony Blair yesterday signalled that he would like to stay on as Prime Minister for at least another year and predicted that he would be cleared by a police investigation into Labour's finances. The Prime Minister is likely to be interviewed by Scotland Yard detectives and some Labour MPs believe he could be compelled to leave office within months, by the funding scandal.
Former Labour deputy leader, Roy Hattersley, yesterday suggested that Mr Blair should demit office by October because of the affair. However, in a BBC interview in St Petersburg, where he is attending the annual G8 summit, Mr Blair insisted that neither he nor his allies had done anything wrong. "I don't believe, incidentally, that anybody in the Labour Party has broken the rules in relation to this."
Supporters of Mr Blair suggest a possible exit date for Mr Blair is next spring, possibly on 1 May, which is the tenth anniversary of his first election victory. When asked if he anticipated attending the G8 summit next year, Mr Blair indicated he expects to be prime minister then and replied: "I look forward to next year's G8," he said.
Mr Blair repeatedly refused to answer specific questions regarding the ongoing police inquiry, and he insisted that in essence there was nothing wrong with financial supporters of political parties being given peerages. "There are places in the House of Lords that afor party nominees, for their party supporters, " Mr Blair said. "It is absurd to say that if someone supports a political party financially... that they should be debarred from being party supporters for those places reserved specifically for party supporters."
The funding row yesterday threatened to further embarrass the Prime Minister, reaching even the international stage. Russian president Vladimir Putin, now hosting the G8 summit, needled Mr Blair at a joint press conference when he was questioned about democratic standards in Russia. "There are also other questions, questions let's say about the fight against corruption," Mr Putin said standing beside Mr Blair yesterday. "We'd be interested in hearing your experience, including how it applies to Lord Levy."
Sir Gulam Noon last week revealed that he had been advised by a Labour official, said to be Lord Levy, to conceal his ¤250,000 loan from an independent panel which was considering his nomination to the Lords.Liberal Democrats have raised questions about Mr Blair's role in the loans affair after it emerged that last month the Prime Minister held a meeting with one of the lenders, Sir Gulam Noon. Lord Oakeshott, a Lib Dem member of the Joint Committee on House of Lords Reform said, "The Prime Minister must now tell the police why he invited a key witness in their corruption inquiry to meet him in Downing Street."
David Cameron's Conservatives have resisted directly criticising the government, but former Conservative Prime Minister, Sir John Major yesterday argued that Labour's behaviour was worse than the Tory party under his leadership.