Israeli Defense Minister Amir Peretz told the European Union's foreign policy chief, Javier Solana, on Thursday that Israeli overflights will continue in Lebanon as long as the UN cease-fire resolution has not been fully implemented.
According to Haaretz, Peretz told the visiting Solana during their meeting in Tel Aviv that the implementation of UN Resolution 1701 must include the release of two captured soldiers. Peretz also stressed the importance of full international monitoring along the Syria-Lebanon border in order to prevent arms smuggling to Hizbullah, as called for in the resolution.
Earlier, Solana told Israel's Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni that Israel must evacuate all illegal West Bank outposts and do its part to advance the internationally-backed road map for peace. According to him, despite the prevailing chaos with the Palestinian Authority, the road map was still an existing plan.
