There are two proposals for a cease-fire in Lebanon. One is French and is backed by the European Union and most of the Muslim world. The other is Israeli-American and backed only by Israel and the United States.
There is one main difference. The French proposal is for an immediate cease-fire followed by negotiations on the points in the American plan, including deployment of an international force. The Israeli-American proposal is that there shall be no cease-fire until all the other points – disarmament of Hezbollah, return of Israeli prisoners, deployment of an international force – are all done.
The kernel of the nut is this: Under the French proposal, the killing on both sides stops while the politicians and diplomats wrangle. Under the Israeli-American proposal, the killing goes on for weeks, if not months.
