Siniora was first to call for ceasefire in 2006, report

Lebanon former Prime Minister Fouad Siniora’s press office issued a statement on Tuesday stating that the US Embassy cables on Lebanon published by WikiLeaks “ prove that Siniora insisted on stopping Israel’s attacks against Lebanon” when he served as Lebanon’s premier during the 2006 July War.

In response to Hezbollah’s accusations that Siniora worked to stall Israel’s ceasefire in 2006, the statement said that the cables reveal that the then-PM “was the first to call for a ceasefire.”

“WikiLeaks showed that Siniora did not accept deploying foreign troops in Lebanon under Chapter VII of the UN Charter ,” the statement said.

“ Instead Siniora was working to boost the number of UNIFIL forces and expand their mission to deal with the post-war phase.”

“The cables also proved that the decision to send Lebanese army troops to South Lebanon after the ceasefire in 2006 was a Lebanese plan set up by Siniora.”

Siniora’s press office added that “those who read the cables realize that Siniora insisted from the first day of the war to stop Israeli aggression and was strongly committed to preserving Lebanon’s sovereignty.”

Last November, Hezbollah Secretary General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah accused Siniora’s cabinet and some March 14 leaders of colluding with Israel and of delaying the July 2006 War. Now Lebanon