Lebanese PM accuses Israel of terrorism

PARIS - Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora accused Israel of using terrorist methods to exert pressure on Lebanon and said its offensive would foster extremism in the Middle East.

"Israel accuses others of terrorism at the same time as it carries it out in the harshest forms," he said in an interview with the Le Monde daily published today.

"It creates problems and maintains them as open wounds to be used as a means of exerting pressure," he said.

The comments came as Israel continued its air strikes against Lebanon and UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan said Security Council members would start hammering out a detailed agreement on deploying a multilateral security force to Lebanon.

Israel says the strikes it has carried out across southern Lebanon and parts of Beirut in the past six days are designed to destroy guerrilla group Hizbollah's ability to fire rockets into Israel and has said it regrets any civilian casualties.

It also says that the fighting was provoked by Hizbollah, a member of the Lebanese government, after some of its fighters captured two Israeli soldiers in a cross-border raid.

Siniora said Israel's detention of Lebanese prisoners, as well as air raids and minefields planted on Lebanese territory were all part of a strategy aimed at destabilising Lebanon.

"How can one explain behaviour like this if not out of a desire to maintain a state of tension and keep pressure on Lebanon," he said. "The lack of a definitive solution to these endemic problems favours extremism."

He repeated that the Lebanese government was not informed of the capture of two Israeli soldiers by Hizbollah guerrillas and was not responsible for the incident which triggered the Israeli attack, but said his government was in contact with the group.

"There will be contacts. The contacts have never been interrupted and we will continue to work ceaselessly, on the basis of a clear position and keeping the interests of Lebanon and the Arabs in mind," he said.

Siniora expressed gratitude for French support but was more sceptical about US expressions of support.

"They are our friends but their friendship for others is greater," he said, a clear reference to Israel.

- REUTERS