U.N. and Israel OK Peace Deal; Lebanon in Favor

The U.N. Security Council adopted a resolution that calls for an end to the war between Israel and Hezbollah and authorizes 15,000 U.N. peacekeepers to help Lebanese troops take control of south Lebanon as Israel withdraws. Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert endorsed the deal, and the Lebanese cabinet looks set to do so as well.

AP:

The U.N. Security Council adopted a resolution Friday that calls for an end to the war between Israel and Hezbollah, and authorizes 15,000 U.N. peacekeepers to help Lebanese troops take control of south Lebanon as Israel withdraws.

The resolution offers the best chance yet for peace after more than four weeks of fighting that has killed more than 800 people, destroyed Lebanon’s infrastructure, displaced hundreds of thousands of people and inflamed tensions across the Middle East. Drafted by France and the U.S., it was adopted unanimously.

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert endorsed the resolution late Friday, after a day of brinksmanship including a threat to expand the ground war. Lebanon’s Cabinet was to consider the draft on Saturday, but Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said the Lebanese government assured her that it supported the text.

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AP / Frank Franklin

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice speaks with U.N. Deputy Secretary-General Mark Malloch Brown on Friday, Aug. 11, at the United Nations in New York. The resolution that was adopted Friday offers the best chance yet for peace after more than four weeks of fighting that has killed more than 800 people, destroyed Lebanon’s infrastructure and inflamed tensions across the Middle East. The document, drafted by the United States and France, was approved unanimously by the 15-member Security Council.