Introduction

Hizbullah’s Secretary General H.E. Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah warnd “Israel” against entering Lebanese territory and said that violations “won’t pass without a response”. Nasrallah urged the Organization of the Islamic Conference in Doha to suport the Intifada and take steps to totally isolate “Israel”, which he said would soon disappear.

In the meantime, his Deputy H.E. Sheikh Nahim Qassem warned “Israel” against “continued aggression by air, land or sea”, in Lebanon saying that it would “cost it dear”.

However, the “Israeli” soldiers fired explosive bullets near a group of Jordanian unversity representatives on a visit to the Lebanese-Palestinian border Sunday, Lebanese police said, but did not report any casualties.

Elsewhere, two Lebanese civilians were blown to pieces and two other were severely injured Sunday when they drove over a mine left over from “Israel’s” 22-year occupation of South Lebanon.

Nasrallah warns “Israelis” to stay home…(1)

Hizbullah’s secretary-general is warning “Israel” against entering Lebanese territory and says that violations “won’t pass without a response.”
“They violate our airspace, they send their helicopters in, and now they want to besiege our territorial waters. All this won’t pass without a response,” Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah said during a celebration to commemorate members of the party who dies fighting the occupation ­ the first time such a gathering has been held since the liberation of the South in May.
Nasrallah was referring to two “Israeli” helicopters briefly landing in the village of Qantara in the South last week. Later in the week an “Israeli” gunboat detained a Lebanese tugboat and questioned its civilian crew near Tyre.
Addressing the Lebanese, Nasrallah said: “Don’t allow all these threats to terrorize you. We as Lebanese are used to these “Israeli” threats.”
The Hizbullah leader said “Israeli” threats would not change the party’s right to continue the resistance until the complete liberation of land and release of 19 detainees still in “Israeli” prisons.
“It’s understandable the “Israelis” are worried because they’re aware that we won’t abandon our responsibilities,” he said.
Nasrallah also urged the Organization of the Islamic Conference in Doha to support the intifada and take steps to totally isolate “Israel”, which he said would soon disappear.
“The Qatar summit should decide on a full Arab and Islamic boycott of “Israel” and relaunch the offices advocating a boycott,” he said.  “It should adopt serious measures to help break the ties certain Arab countries continue to maintain with “Israel”, even if they claimed those are limited, because with such an enemy, you can’t keep relations ­ even if they’re just held by a hair. We must again isolate “Israel” in the region and also offer a real support to the Palestinian people in their struggle so that they can pursue the intifada and no one can conspire against them.”
Nasrallah said 2000 had been marked by the collapse of the Zionist philosophy and that soon the state of “Israel” would fall apart as well.

Hizbullah warns “Israel” against continuing "aggression"…(2)

“Hizbullah warned “Israel” Sunday against "continued aggression by air, land or sea" in Lebanon, saying that it would "cost it dear."

"“Israel” knows very well that Lebanon is no longer available for it to come and go as it pleases," Hizbullah's deputy secretary-general Sheikh Nahim Qassem said during a rally at Deir Qanun an-Nahr, near the southern Lebanese town of Tyre.

Qassem referred to increased violations of Lebanese air space and Friday's interception by the “Israeli” navy of a civilian vessel in Lebanese territorial waters.

"It will serve no purpose for “Israel” to claim that these are preventative steps, on the pretext that it fears new operations," said Sheikh Qassem, whose movement spearheaded the struggle which resulted in the May 24 withdrawal of the Jewish state from southern Lebanon after 22 years of occupation.

"There is nothing more for the enemy to do than leave our land, peacefully or through force, as the resistance will continue until all occupied land is freed," he added.

According to the United Nations, “Israel” violated Lebanese airspace 123 times in the month since the October 7 capture by Hizbullah of three “Israeli” soldiers in the Shebaa Farms.

In Al-Quds army chief General Shaul Mofaz repeated Sunday that “Israel” considers Hizbullah reponsible for the welfare of the captured soldiers.

"We consider the Hizbullah, but also Lebanon and Syria, responsible for the health of our soldiers," he told public radio, although he refused to confirm or deny a Lebanese press report that the three soldiers had been "seriously wounded" during their capture.

Despite repeated requests, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has not yet been allowed to visit the Hizbullah's prisoners.

Hizbullah wants to exchange them for Arab detainees in “Israel”, refusing to give any details on the condition of the captives.

Students under fire at border…(3)

“Israeli” soldiers fired warning shots at a group of Jordanian university representatives on a visit to a former border crossing near Kfar Shuba on Sunday.
No one was hurt in the incident, the second in two days at the Hassan Gate south of Kfar Shuba, which leads into the disputed Shebaa Farms district.
The “Israeli” soldiers fired three bursts from a heavy machine- gun, the bullets kicking up stones and dust some 200 meters from the delegation.
One of the 16 members of the delegation, Dr. Mounir Fasha, told reporters on the spot that he had observed during this “reconnaissance visit” that “the UN is incapable of solving the problems of the region and should take more effective steps in that regard.”
Four Jordanians were wounded by rubber-coated bullets fired by “Israeli” troops on June 24 as they were demonstrating at the Fatima Gate in Kfar Kila, prompting an angry response from the Jordanian government, political parties and professional unions. On Friday, an LBCI TV camera crew came under fire at the Hassan Gate.
The 3-meter-high security fence erected by the “Israeli” Army during the occupation rarely conforms to the Blue Line in the Shebaa Farms.
Instead, the fence was built according to the strategic topography of the area. This has resulted in the fence advancing across the line into Lebanese territory in some places and retreating inside “Israeli”-controlled territory in others. The Hassan Gate is an example of the latter, where the gate and fence are about 200 meters on the “Israeli” side of the Blue Line. The Blue Line is not demarcated on the ground at the Hassan Gate.
Following the “Israeli” withdrawal in May, a squad of Hizbullah fighters inadvertently set up a small observation post beside the Hassan Gate on the “Israeli” side of the Blue Line.
The “Israelis” appeared content to allow them to stay there because the fence still provided an effective barrier and was overlooked by an outpost on Jabal Summaq.
But the “Israelis” have tightened security along the Blue Line since three soldiers were captured by Hizbullah on Oct. 7. The “Israeli” Army has informed UNIFIL that it will shoot at any “suspicious movement” along the border.
The warning shots indicate that the “Israeli” Army will no longer tolerate breaches of the Blue Line at the Hassan Gate.
“Israeli” soldiers fired on Lebanese civilians driving a car near the border between the two countries at nightfall, Lebanese police said, without reporting any casualties.
Two bullets went through the rear window without hitting any of the four passengers who were traveling along a road that is rarely used along the border, near Fatima Gata, where anti-”Israeli” protests occur daily.

“Israeli” land mine kills two, wounds two near Jibaa…(4)

Two men were killed and two others wounded on Sunday when a land mine left behind by “Israeli” occupation forces exploded near Jibaa in Iqlim al-Touffah.
The anti-tank mine went off when the driver of a car on the Jibaa-Haitoura road swerved onto the shoulder while trying to overtake a tractor that was widening the road.
The two passengers, Maher Dia, 29, and Mohammed Mahmoudi, 22, were killed instantly in the 1pm explosion.
Driver Qassem Sabah, 30, and the tractor driver, Ali Farhat, 25, were wounded.
Islamic Health Organization personnel ferried the casualties to hospital in Sidon.
Hizbullah fighters detonated a number of other land mines in the area as security forces prevented civilians from approaching the scene.
The road was blocked during the years of occupation, and sown with land mines by the “Israeli” and their South Lebanon Army militia allies. The road was reopened following the “Israeli” withdrawal in May.
Sunday’s incident brought to 11 the total number of people killed in explosions of land mines or abandoned shells since the “Israeli” forces withdrawal. A total of 66 Lebanese have also been wounded in such explosions.
UNIFIL estimates there at least 130,000 mines planted in the South. According to the latest statistics released by UNIFIL, peacekeepers have located and destroyed 1,105 anti-personnel mines, three anti-tank mines, 205 unexploded ordnance and eight booby-trapped devices.

Lebanese military court tries 52 more collaborators with “Israel”…(5)

“ Beirut's military court sentenced 52 more collaborators with “Israel” Saturday, bringing to nearly 1,400 the total to be tried so far, a judicial source said Saturday.

The trials of more than 2,200 Lebanese accused of cooperating with the Jewish state began June 5, less than two weeks after “Israel” ended its 22-year occupation of south Lebanon.

One, accused of collaborating with “Israeli” intelligence, was jailed for seven years and banned from southern Lebanon for a further seven. Most members of the former “Israeli”-allied South Lebanon Army militia were sentenced to one-year terms, while other defendants, mainly women, were fined for going into “Israel”.

A few people were acquitted, the source said.

"Intifadah for Palestinian Independence"title of OIC statement…(6)

Leaders of the world's 1.2 billion Muslims started converging in Qatar on Saturday for an Islamic summit expected to call on Muslims to severe ties with "“Israel”" for killings of Palestinians they say amount to war crimes.

Qatar's last minute move on Thursday saved the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) summit from collapse and paved the way for the attendance of Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah and Iranian President Mohammad Khatami.

Iranian Foreign Minister Kamal Kharrazi said the three-day summit starting on Sunday would send a clear signal to “Israel” and its U.S. ally. "The message is that we cannot stand idle towards what is happening to the Palestinians,'' he said.

Delegates said the summit would be presented with a draft resolution, approved by Muslim foreign ministers on Friday, calling on the OIC to severe ties with "“Israel”" for what the foreign ministers said were war crimes against Palestinians.

This includes closing all “Israeli” trade or representation offices in Islamic countries. The making of the draft resolution, titled  "Intifadah for Palestinian Independence" face difficulties due to differences between member countries. Some countries want the draft resolution to include the call to cut ties with "“Israel”" and the U.S if it moves its embassy to occupied Al-Quds. Other member countries of the OIC like Turkey and Egypt called for a moderate draft resolution, preferring to urge the U.S. to carry out its role as a just mediator in the peace process.

Amnesty condemns “Israel” over Arabs…(7)

Damning new evidence of “Israel’s” abuse of Arab children has emerged, adding another tier to the stack of human-rights violations committed over the past six weeks of violence.

It comes amid deepening controversy surrounding the visit to the region of Mary Robinson, the UN Commissioner for Human Rights, whom “Israel’s” Foreign Minister has refused to meet to discuss accusations of excessive force.

A report by Amnesty International released last week, but barely publicised, describes how Arab teenagers have been arrested in the middle of the night, subjected to high-pressure interrogations – including beatings – and held behind bars for more than a month.

The focus of Amnesty's latest investigation was not the Palestinians taking part in Intifada in the occupied territories, many scores of whom have been shot dead by the “Israeli” army, but members of “Israel’s” one million Arab population.

Hundreds of Palestinians living within “Israel” have been arrested after uprising erupted in Arab towns early last month in protest over killings by the “Israeli” security services in the early days of the intifada. Some have been held in custody, denied bail or immediate access to lawyers.

Amnesty's findings are further evidence that, after moves towards reform, “Israel” is slipping back into the pattern of widespread human-rights violations that characterised the first six-year intifada.

It includes the story of two young Palestinians in east Al-Quds who say they were beaten, shackled, and kicked while lying on the ground with hoods on their heads. They say they were repeatedly slapped during interrogation. One said that 20 police officers entered their detention cell where he and 30 other young Arabs were held and randomly beat them with batons.

“Israel’s” Arab population – a fifth of the total – has long complained of sweeping civil-rights violations by the Jewish majority. But the uprising, the worst in the 52-year history of the state, dealt a severe blow to the already strained inter-ethnic relations. Thirteen “Israeli” Arabs were killed during the unrest. Since then, Jewish suspicions that “Israel’s” Arab population is a fifth column for rebellious Palestinians in the occupied territories have deepened.

According to Ha'aretz newspaper, the security forces have drawn up plans to fortify Jewish communities close to Arab villages in “Israel” on the grounds that they are next to "hostile populations". The government plans to begin a major demographic drive to increase the Jewish population in predominantly Arab areas, notably Galilee.

Amnesty's report states that Palestinians arrested, including children (those under 18), were beaten, shouted at, and threatened while in detention. It says that a round-up of Palestinians is still continuing in “Israel”, a month after the Intifada ended. Although they are mostly accused of relatively minor public-order offences, some have been held in custody for weeks in what the “Israeli” authorities justify as an effort to establish calm.

The human rights group also says that several hundred Jews were arrested after anti-Palestinian protests, some of whom have also been badly mistreated. But a far higher proportion of Palestinians have been kept behind bars.

This week, responding to pressure, the “Israeli” government established a commission of inquiry into the protests inside “Israel”. An early plan for an investigation by a weaker fact-finding committee was abandoned after “Israeli” Arab leaders refused to cooperate.

Amnesty has called on the “Israeli” government to investigate its findings, and to co-operate with the UN commission of inquiry, under Ms Robinson.

This seems doomed to fall on deaf ears. “Israel” has brushed off criticism by human-rights organisations about the daily killing of protesters, who have been more heavily targeted than the armed Palestinians who are attacking. There is remarkably little internal debate about the slow massacre committed by its security forces.

Ms Robinson's commission has already accused “Israel” of "widespread, systematic and gross violation of human rights". This week she saw the evidence for herself.

Footnotes:

1- the dailys star, 13-11-2000.

2- AFP, 12-11-2000.

3- The Daily Star, 13-11-2000.

4- Same source.

5- AFP, 11-11-2000.

6- Manar TV, 11-11-2000.

7- Independent, 12-11-2000.