She told reporters minutes later that in the aftermath of the measure's unanimous approval Friday, "This is a moment of truth for the international community. A full implementation of Resolution 1701 can lead to a change in the region, in Lebanon and lead to a better future for us all."

Livni feels implementation is possible, but said the resolution must be enacted in full, including not only disarming Hezbollah but preventing rearming and the release of abducted Israeli soldiers.

"Our expectation is that this resolution will be implemented in its full manner, the way we all accepted the resolution" during negotiations before its passage, she said.

"We must see Resolution 1701 as an action plan, a blueprint for change," the foreign minister said. "We must insure the immediate and unconditional release of the Israeli hostages and the fact that they have not been released yet is a clear violation of the resolution.

"We must ensure that the binding embargo established in the resolution is fully enforced and monitored so that Syria and Iran are prevented from rearming Hezbollah," she added.

Livni advocated a role for the U.N. Interim Force in Lebanon helping Beirut police its borders against arms smuggling.

Troop contributing nations considering offering soldiers for a beefed up UNIFIL were meeting late Thursday at U.N. headquarters to consider which country can contibute what units and when and articulate rules of engagement for the new, stronger UNIFIL authorized force of up to 15,000 troops from the present less than 2,000 soldier limit.

France, the former colonial power in Lebanon and heading up the present UNIFIL, was expected to continue its role.

"The world cannot allow itself to repeat the omissions of the past, to allow Hezbollah to rise again and threaten the future of the region," Livni said. "It cannot be done without the help of the international community and this was part of my discussions with Secretary-General Annan. For its part Israel is ready to respect its obligations under the resolution and to work for peaceful relations with Lebanon."

Hezbollah, however, was the key to Israel's peace with its neighbor to the north, Livni said.

"There's a need to address the true cause of violence in Lebanon and this is Hezbollah," she said. "Hezbollah is a terrorist organization which represents Iranian interests in the region, the Iranian hatred and ideology not only against Israel but against the West and its values."

It was a reminder Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad once suggested Israel be "wiped off the map."

Livni feels the latest conflict would not have occurred if the Security Council's previous resolutions calling for an end to foreign military entities in Lebanon had been implemented. It has long been said Hezbollah is financed by Tehran.

"The goals are clear and it was also stated in formal resolutions, Security Council Resolutions 1559 and 1680 (from 2004 and earlier this year, respectively) in which it was stated, very clearly, that the Lebanese government should exercise its sovereignty on the entire Lebanese territory," Livni said. "If the Lebanese government had implemented Security Council Resolution 1559 in the first place we could have been all spared the violence, the violence that caused this deconstruction of the past month.

"We believe that (Friday's) Resolution 1701 represents the interest of the region but the resolution alone will do nothing unless we react with determination to insure that this time the international community's decisions are properly implemented," she said.

The foreign minister expressed concern Hezbollah had turned its attention in southern Lebanon from rocket launching to relief efforts and said she brought it up with Annan.

"The Iranians can send a check the next day to finance the places that were attacked by Israel and this is the wrong message to the Lebanese people," she said. "We expect the international community wants to support these people (Lebanese) and put some money into reparations (and) to do it directly in order to prevent Iran from sending money."

Livni said the Lebanese government also should be against Iran helping Hezbollah fund reparations because it could come back to haunt Beirut through "maybe even the vote in future polls in Lebanon."

Related Links
Your World At War