One village’s brave independence…(1)

A large Lebanese flag flies high above Bastara. Fatima Zohra, one of three inhabitants who refused to leave this isolated, ramshackle huddle of stone huts despite more than three decades of occupation, comes out. She is all smiles and coffee cups. “Welcome to Bastara,” she says. “Welcome to Lebanon.”
Anywhere else, this exact reference to our geographical position would seem superfluous. But in Bastara, the confirmation is very important. Just 150 meters away, an “Israeli” border fence appears to stand between the farm and Lebanon. The casual visitor, dropping unprepared into Zohra’s farm, would be forgiven for thinking they had inadvertently crossed onto “the other side.”
But this is not “Israel”. Bastara is a little bit of Lebanon on the other side of the border fence separating the liberated South from the occupied Golan, returned to Lebanon by the UN border commission just over two months ago.
It’s a case of facts on the ground lagging behind facts on paper.
Getting there is half the fun, even if the road from Kfar Shuba, the nearest village, is a real car-killer. Piles of gravel and rocks the size of small children strew the path, a crude dirt track that winds across the lower slopes of Jabl al-Sheikh through untended fields. On the hills above, “Israeli” outposts cap the crests of several peaks. The view is breathtaking and from up there it must be possible to see Haifa, possibly beyond. No wonder the “Israelis” refuse to leave.
Twenty dusty minutes later, the “border” appears. Respite, at least for the car, is in sight. On the other side, a well-maintained “Israeli” Army patrol road follows the fence up the hillside and down onto the plateau below.
Turn left and it’s an easy drive up the hill to the Shibaa Farms. Lebanon and Syria say the farms are Lebanese. “Israel” says they are Syrian. But try to get your own point across and you will surely be shot, well before you get to the “Israeli” outpost at the top of the hill.
Best to turn right. This is the “Bastara pocket” and you are free to drive along the road, complete with signs in Hebrew, as far as farms and the remains of the old “Israeli” outpost, blown up during the retreat. Beyond, the road continues down to where, one day, the borders of Lebanon and Syria will meet again. But for now this, too, is still occupied land.
The track peters out in front of a gate in the fence. Now standing wide open, this gate for decades held the power of life or death over the Zohra family. Literally.
“It was open occasionally but only when the “Israelis” wanted,” recalls Zohra. “One day my mother fell ill and we begged from the morning to let us take her to Marjayoun but they refused. They only opened the gate that night and by then she was dead.”
The gate is disconcerting. Just a few kilometers away at the Hassan Gate, “Israeli” troops fire on those coming too close. But here one can drive right through. Perhaps because for so many years it rarely opened, the gate looks like it should still be shut. Even Zohra admits she is not entirely used to the new status quo.
Big business has no such doubts. And if “Israel” is confused over the status of the farms, perhaps they should have a word with Cellis. Bastara might exist on the other side of an “Israeli” fence, but that doesn’t stop cellular phones from ringing.
Zohra insists that Bastara is not part of the Shibaa Farms. “No, Shibaa is there, a long way inside,” she says pointing over the crest of the hills. “We have land there too, but my family was forced to move here in 1967.”
She has never seen that land, though. Born in 1970, Zohra’s world has been very small.
This year, it finally got a little larger and, for the moment, a little less frightening. The Zohras ­ Fatima’s elderly father Mohammed and her cousin, Qassem are the only other family members left in Bastara ­ can breathe more easily. For the first time in her life, Fatima celebrates Independence Day.
But like other residents of the former occupied zone, her happiness is tempered by the uncertainty ahead. The Shibaa Farms are still very much an issue, as the recent roadside-bomb blasts attest, and while the “Israelis” have gone, the Lebanese state has yet to make an appearance. If for Bastara the fight is over, for the Zohras the struggle goes on.
“We lived in misery but we never left because my father wouldn’t let (the “Israelis”) get our land, Lebanese land,” she says. “Our life is hard, very hard. We still don’t have what we need. But at least for now we can be happy because the “Israelis” have left.”

Car bomb attack kills two as Palestinians hit back…(2)

A huge car bomb killed two people and wounded at least 35 in “Israel’s” heartland yesterday less than 48 hours after the state tried to bomb the Palestinians into submission with the biggest air attack of the conflict.

The bomb – the second big attack inside the 1967 Green Line within three weeks – detonated during rush hour in the middle of Hadera, a blue-collar town on the Mediterranean coast, 30 miles north of Tel Aviv. A car packed with explosives blew up next to a crowded bus, sending it hurtling through a shop window, and setting neighbouring shops on fire.

Rescue teams struggled through the twisted wreckage to free wounded passengers. Hospital officials said at least 35 people were hurt. Some had lost limbs, witnesses said.

Little of the car remained beyond its steering column. As the news spread, angry right-wing demonstrators gathered in Al-Quds to demand an even tougher crackdown.

No one claimed responsibility, but “Israel” said it suspected Islamic militants from Hamas, who have carried out bus bombings in the past. The group's military wing had reportedly issued a statement vowing to bring death to every “Israeli” home.

The Palestinian Authority denied accusations, made immediately after the bomb by Ehud Barak, the Prime Minister, that Yasser Arafat, the authority's leader, was ultimately responsible. Mr Barak later called an emergency meeting of his security cabinet.

Egypt accuses “Israel” of "terrorist" attacks against Palestinians …(3)

Palestinian President Yasser Arafat expressed appreciation that Egypt has recalled its ambassador to “Israel”. Cairo said its envoy will not return to Tel Aviv before fighting ends. Speaking after Arafat discussed the latest fighting in the territories with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, Foreign Minister Amr Moussa called on “Israel” to abandon its quote policy of terrorism.

After an hour-long meeting between Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and Arafat in Cairo, Egyptian Foreign Minister Amr Moussa told reporters the two leaders reviewed the latest developments in the Palestinian territories and options for ending the "current tragedy". Moussa said Arafat thanked Mubarak for pulling back his envoy. Moussa added his country would continue to be active in Middle East diplomacy, but could not endorse “Israel’s” killing campaign in the Palestinian territories. Arafat criticized the US in Cairo for supplying “Israel” with weapons used to kill Palestinians while trying to broker a Middle east peace at the same time. Egypt recalled its ambassador to Tel Aviv, Mohammed Bassiouny in response to “Israel’s” Monday rocket barrage on the Gaza Strip. (Nabil Shaath, senior Palestinian negotiator saying: "Egypt was the Arab country that concluded peace with “Israel” and a country that did its very best to make and a country that did its very best to make this peace process work. This message is an Egyptian message, an Arab message and international message that Egypt and the rest of the world will not stay aside while “Israel” continues to kill, bombard and attack the Palestinian people). The US has urged Cairo to reconsider its decision, saying Egypt's "engagement" with the Jewish state is needed to restore calm. American officials held out hope of convincing Egypt to return Bassiouny to his Tel Aviv post. US Defense Secretary William Cohen, on a Middle East tour, met Mubarak after the Egyptian leaders' talks with Arafat, but cancelled a planned news conference afterwards. Egypt was a go-between in Middle East peace efforts and one of two Arab neighbors to forge full diplomatic ties with “Israel” after four wars. “Israeli” Prime Minister Ehud Barak regretted Egypt’s recall of its envoy but in his words he "did not exaggerate the immediate consequences". Barak also rejected speculation “Israel” could be heading into another war with its Arab neighbors. Cairo's decision was the biggest diplomatic blow to “Israel” since the violence flared on September 28. Cohen hoped Egypt will return its ambassador to “Israel” as soon as possible. Cohen quoted President Hosni Mubarak as saying Ambassador Bassiouni will only return once violence ends. Oman, another Arab state that had links with “Israel”, called on Arab countries to "review" their relations with “Israel” and accused the Jewish state of creating a dangerous situation in the region. Muscat called on Arabs to implement resolutions reached at an Arab summit in Cairo last month. Arab leaders then agreed to quote "challenge “Israeli” attempts to infiltrate the Arab world in any form, and from now on to stop opening relations with “Israel”". Oman last month closed its trade office in Tel Aviv and that of “Israel” in Muscat, so did Qatar. Oman and Qatar were the only Gulf Arab states to have ties with “Israel”. 

Arabs seek emergency security council meeting over “Israeli” atrocities in Palestinian territories…(4)

Arab countries have asked the UN Security Council to convene another urgent meeting following “Israeli” strikes on the Palestinian territories. They said the request for a meeting aims to accelerate the consideration of Palestinian proposals for 2,000 unarmed military observers in the occupied territories. UN Secretary General Kofi Annan had suggested a team that is supposed to investigate violence that erupted in the Palestinian territories and “Israel” following Ariel Sharon's visit to Al Aqsa Mosque includes police and military observers. It is an option that could do away with Palestinian demands for a peacekeeping force. “Israel” has been opposing the deployment of an international contingent and the fact-finding mission. But the US said the mission should go forward, despite “Israel’s” opposition. “Israel” claimed it would be "unfair" and "inappropriate" for a fact-finding mission to begin work. Washington admitted “Israel” could delay the process. Former US Senator George Mitchell is heading the probe. Regional leaders and the US President Bill Clinton agreed at a summit in Sharm el-Sheikh last month to launch a probe into the violence. 

Footnotes:

1-   The Daily Star, 23-11-2000.

2-   Independent, 23-11-2000.

3-   Future TV, 22-11-2000.

4-   Same source.