June Thursday 15-2000:

Verification of 425 could be completed on Thursday (1)

Verification of "Israel's" withdrawal from Lebanon could be completed on Thursday, a United Nations spokesman said on Wednesday, while the Lebanese team participating in the verification process complained that "Israel" still held military positions inside Lebanon.
“The UN Interim Force in Lebanon, accompanied by Lebanese Army experts, resumed verification activity on Wednesday along the border with "Israel",” UN spokesman Fred Eckhard said in New York. “They made significant progress.
“They expect to go back to work early on Thursday and the UN mission says there’s hope that the verification process could be completed tomorrow.”
Acknowledging that he had said the same thing last week, he added: “We’re getting close.”
But according to a Lebanese officer who requested anonymity, "Israeli" border intrusions range from 50 meters to 250 meters inside Lebanese territory in areas already checked, including fixed military positions, patrols inside Lebanese territory and fences.
The Lebanese have voiced their complaints with the United Nations, which is dealing with "Israel", the official said. There was no immediate comment from "Israel".
Brigadier General Amin Hoteit, the head of the Lebanese team, would not comment about "Israeli" violations along the frontier except to report that an "Israeli" fence outside Metulla encroached into Lebanese fields in the village of Kfar Kila, carving out an area six meters deep and 200 meters wide.
UN officials refused to comment on whether "Israel" was violating the line of withdrawal, as they were continuing their border inspection and report for UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, who will visit Lebanon on Monday as part of a Middle East tour.
“We’re here to examine the withdrawal line and to check if there are any "Israeli" violations. And if there are, we’ll find them and report them,” said Irish Brigadier General Jim Sreenan, deputy commander of the 4,500-strong UNIFIL.
After five days of work, the team has finished inspecting almost two-thirds of the 120-kilometer border, which was drawn anew by UN cartographers after the May 24 "Israeli" pullout under the terms of UN Security Council Resolution 425.
UNIFIL troops will be deployed at the border after the UN verifies the withdrawal. Until then, the government will decide whether to send the army south. So far, it has deployed police in the region and will decide on Thursday whether to reinforce the security forces with soldiers.
The verification, which Annan wanted completed over the weekend, is taking time because of the rough terrain, lack of roads and presence of land mines.
Lebanon wants to accurately survey the frontier and “will not give up a single grain of its soil,” said the Lebanese team member who had spoken of the "Israeli" violations.
On Wednesday, UN and Lebanese officers in a dozen UN-marked vehicles stopped at points east of Meis al-Jabal to inspect and compare the actual border fence with the UN maps.

Occupation reinforces positions in Shibaa…(2)

Observers noted that the "Israeli" occupation forces reinforcement of positions in the Shibaa farms has increased as the date of the visit by the UN Secretary General Kofi Annan to the region is drawing near.

It was also noticed that the declaration about the reinforcement coincided with the "Israeli" occupation's media announcement on Annan's visit.

The occupation has been building new barricades, bunkers and ramparts around the Mount Hermon monitoring base besides new watchtowers at the mountain's western slopes.

Moreover, a new outpost was built on the western side of the Abbasiyeh gate outpost only two weeks after an older post at the site was destroyed by the occupation army.

Near the Mtullah outpost, opposite the Khiam plain, "Israeli" bulldozers were seen setting barbed wires.

Mass grave from 1978 invasion is unearthed…(3)

A mass grave, containing the remains of 20 Lebanese fighters killed during the 1978 "Israeli" invasion, has been unearthed by construction workers digging in Bint Jbeil to install water pipes.
Stacked on top of each other, the deceased have been identified and are thought to have been members of the National Movement, a loose alliance of Lebanese parties and Palestinian guerrilla groups who fought together against "Israel's" first incursion in 1978.
The grave, discovered on Monday, lies only several meters from Shalaaboun Hill, a scenic area surrounded by mountains and a kilometer away from the old "Israeli"-allied militia headquarters in Bint Jbeil.
Mohammed Berri, south Lebanon’s public prosecutor, closed off the site until further investigations can be conducted. A sign has been placed over the grave, with the words: “Martyrs of the "Israeli" Invasion, 1978.”
According to a source, the remains of several of the bodies were placed in bags while others were thrown on top of them.
“The bags preserved the bones better and personal documents remained intact ­ that’s how they knew the names of the victims so quickly,” he said.
The source said that several battles took place around Shalaaboun and speculated that “there are probably several hundred more bodies buried in the area, especially in the ravine under Massoud Hill, a few meters away.”
Village residents claim that the fighters were killed when "Israeli" tanks fired on a house in which they were hiding. Another story circulating in the village claims that they died fighting in the field.
“The fact that some were in body bags and others weren’t means that they came from different places or were even buried at different times,” the source claimed.
Busloads of visitors to the south stopped along the roadside and looked into the pit, but did not approach the grave for fear of land mines. “It’s sad because the discovery of this grave will bring back so many painful memories for those waiting for their loved ones to return, hoping that they are still alive,” said Ali Amro, from Baalback-Hermel.

Footnotes:

1- The Daily Star, 15-6-2000.

2-  Manar TV, 14-6-2000.