Not exactly.
Friday 28 July 2006, 5:36 Makka Time, 2:36 GMT
Israel has said it has received implicit “authorisation” from international powers to continue its attacks in Lebanon.
The Israeli justice minister, Haim Ramon, said Israel had “in effect obtained the authorisation to continue our operations” by Wednesday’s 15-nation Rome conference on the crisis in Lebanon.
Ramon said on Thursday the conference had implicitly said Israel could continue its attacks “until Hezbollah is no longer present in southern Lebanon”.
“The whole world knows that a Hezbollah victory will mean a victory for international terrorism, which will be a catastrophe for the world and for Israel.”
Frank-Walter Steinmeier, the German foreign minister, described Ramon’s interpretation as a “gross misunderstanding” of the outcome of the conference.
“I would say just the opposite – yesterday in Rome it was clear that everyone present wanted to see an end to the fighting as swiftly as possible.”
Erkki Tuomioja, the Finnish foreign minister, whose country holds the European Union presidency said in Tel Aviv that the Israeli view was “totally wrong.”
“The whole basic idea of the Rome conference was to very quickly help end the war and hostilities.
“Without a doubt, there were diverging views in Rome, but most of the countries, including the European Union, also specifically want an immediate halt to the hostilities.”