Introduction

An “Israeli” enemy soldier and another two wounded as an explosive device planted by the Islamic Resistance (IR) men was detonated against a military patrol at the “Israeli”-occupied Shibaa Farms. The IR said that the bombing is a part of the Jihad (Holy War) “to regain every inch of our occupied territory”.

In this connection, Lebanon’s Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri asserted Sunday that the Hizbullah resistance will remain active as long as “Israel” occupies part of Lebanon. “Hizbullah is a Lebanese party which resisted “Israel” and played a fundemental part in liberating a large part of the South and it is part of the political activity in the country”, he said.

In the meantime, official Syrian radio Sunday backed anti-”Israeli” resistance in southern Lebanon after the bomb atack by IR on an “Israeli” patrol in Shibaa Farms. “Lebanon has the right to recover the entirety of its land taken by “Israel” including resorting to resistance activity”, it said.

“Israeli” killed in IR ambush
Lahoud condemned “Israel’s” air and land aggressions…(1)

One “Israeli” soldier was killed and two wounded Sunday in a roadside bomb ambush near Ramta in the Shibaa Farms district, as Hizbullah’s war to liberate the disputed territory intensified.
The “Israelis” retaliated with a heavy air and artillery bombardment of the area facing Ramta, including the first air raid by warplanes since “Israel’s” withdrawal from the South last May. The “Israeli” government lodged a protest with the United Nations, but appeared to refrain from a more severe military response.
President Emile Lahoud condemned the “Israeli” shelling of the Kfar Shuba district and also filed a complaint to the UN.
Hizbullah said in a statement that a unit of the Al-Aqsa battalion detonated a roadside bomb at 6.50am beside an “Israeli” patrol on a road between the outposts of Jabal Summaq and Ramta in the heart of the Farms. Hizbullah said it carried out the attack, the third in the area since Oct. 7, “to complete the liberation of the violated land and in confidence of its choice of jihad to recoup every inch of occupied territory.”
The “Israeli” Army confirmed that one soldier was killed in the blast and named him as Staff Sergeant Khalil Taher, 27, a Bedouin tracker. Two other soldiers were wounded.
“A ground patrol discovered an explosive device around 900 meters from the border in the Har Dov (Shibaa Farms) region,” General Moshe Kaplinsky, commander of the “Israeli” Army’s Galilee region said. “Two soldiers left their vehicle to inspect the device and it exploded.”
The “Israelis” responded almost immediately. Artillery guns pounded the area facing the ambush site and helicopter gunships fired machine guns and missiles in a bid to hit the retreating Hizbullah team.
Warplanes fired missiles at a former Hizbullah observation post, south of Kfar Shuba. Flying debris hit Ahmad Fayez Hussein in the leg while he was working on a road at the northeastern entrance to Kfar Shuba.
“We were trying to make a run for it to take cover when pieces of stones hit me,” the 21-year-old Syrian construction worker said later as fellow workers bandaged his left leg.
By mid-morning, residents of Kfar Shuba huddled in groups as the sound of exploding “Israeli” artillery shells echoed through the hillside village’s winding dusty streets. Phosphorous shells exploded every few seconds in soft puffs of brilliant white smoke among the thorn bushes and boulders of the mountainside. Almost 100 shells were fired into the wadis and mountain slopes near Kfar Shuba, setting light to the scrub. A huge cloud of smoke rolled down the mountainside and billowed over the cultivated.
Suheila Diab, 60, said she was drinking coffee when she heard the blast of Hizbullah’s roadside bomb and saw smoke rising beyond the edge of the Farms.
“At first the sound seemed natural to us because we have heard so many explosions in the past. But when the warplanes came overhead, we grew scared,” she said. “The house shook as they fired their missiles.”
Some of the younger residents stood on the roofs of houses to watch. “I am proud of the resistance,” said Ahmad Saadeddine, 20. “If they continue until the “Israelis” leave the Shibaa Farms it will be very good.”
In the village of Halta, 2 kilometers southwest of Kfar Shuba, Ghassan Abdel-Al, 50, said he lost 47 goats and an unknown number of cattle in the shelling. “We had to bring the rest of the flock down from the hill with shells exploding near us.”
Several goats were injured in the shelling. Abdel-Al’s children tied dirty bandages around the shattered legs of the goats and left the badly hurt animals to die in the shade.
“Israeli” Prime Minister Ehud Barak, who was being interviewed by “Israel” Radio as news was emerging of the bombing, described the situation as “very sensitive” and capable of erupting at any time. “We will go on acting with force and wisdom by the “Israeli” Army in order to respond to everything, to respond with force on the spot, but not to be drawn into adventures. We will know how to do what’s needed,” Barak said.
“Israeli” Foreign Minister Shlomo Ben-Ami said the Hizbullah attack was “an aggressive act not only by Hizbullah but also on the Lebanese government’s part.”
“We placed a complaint with the Security Council of the UN against the Lebanese government for the activities of Hizbullah against our forces in the Shibaa region,” Ben-Ami told a press conference. “We hope for support from the international community and for the Lebanese government to condemn this aggression against “Israeli” forces outside Lebanese territory,” Ben-Ami said.
Lahoud condemned the air raids as a “dangerous precedent that threatens the stability in the region.” In a statement, Lahoud said he had instructed Foreign Minister Mahmoud Hammoud to contact Lebanon’s ambassador to the UN Salim Tadmuri and file a complaint with the Security Council.
Official Syrian radio backed the bomb attack. “Lebanon has the right to recover the entirety of its lands taken by “Israel”, including resorting to resistance activity,” Radio Damascus said in its daily commentary. “Lebanese resistance launches its operations from Lebanese territory.”

Hizbullah will stay as long as “Israel” occupies part of Lebanon: Hariri…(2)

“ Lebanese Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri said Sunday that the Hizbullah resistance will remain active as long as “Israel” occupies part of Lebanon, as a bomb planted by the movement killed an “Israeli” soldier.

Hariri told a group of Egyptian newspaper editors that “Israel” was making a "big mistake" by continuing to use force as a strategy against the Arabs, as the Jewish state launched retaliatory air strikes in southern Lebanon for the first time since its withdrawal from the region in May.

It was not clear from Egypt's MENA news agency, which reported Hariri's comments, whether or not the Lebanese premier was responding directly to Sunday's events or speaking in general terms.

"The party (Hizbullah) will carry out its activities as a resistance party as long as “Israel” occupies a part of Lebanese land," Hariri said.

The Hizbullah attack on Sunday took place in the “Israeli”-occupied Shibaa Farms border area which was captured from Syria but which Beirut and the rest of the Arab world claims belongs to Lebanon.

"Hizbullah is a Lebanese party which resisted “Israel” and played a fundamental part in liberating a large part of the south and it is part of the political activity in the country," Hariri said.

"“Israel” is making a big mistake if it believes that it can get out of its current dilemma by running forward, by continuing to use force," he added.

"The way out of this dilemma is to go back to the basics, to preserve international resolutions," MENA quoted him as commenting on the future of peace in the region in the light of the Palestinian intifada and “Israeli” aggression.

"“Israel” should have realised a lot of truths including the fact that its dealings with the Arabs in this way will not do," Hariri said.

"The Arabs will never give in to feelings of deperation," he added.

An “Israeli” soldier was killed and two others wounded by the Hizbullah explosion in the Shibaa Farms, a mountainous region on the Lebanese-Syrian borders occupied by “Israel” since the 1967 Arab-”Israeli” war, the “Israeli” military said.

Damascus stresses right of resistance to “Israelis” in southern Lebanon…(3)

“ Official Syrian radio Sunday backed anti-”Israeli” resistance in southern Lebanon, after a bomb attack by Hizbullah on an “Israeli” patrol in Shibaa Farms area in the Lebanese-Syrian border area.

"Lebanon has the right to recover the entirety of its lands taken by “Israel”, including resorting to resistance activity," Radio Damascus said in its daily commentary.

The radio condemned "the “Israeli” border violations" and raids into southern Lebanon, saying that the "Lebanese resistance launches its operations from Lebanese territory."

“Israelis” say they have killed four armed Palestinians…(4)

“Israeli” Prime Minister Ehud Barak acknowledged Sunday that “Israel” has never used such heavy force against the Palestinians, but said he was still looking for a diplomatic solution to end two months of bloodshed and return to peace talks.

Barak faced security problems on a second front Sunday as Hizbullah guerrillas detonated a roadside bomb, killing an “Israeli” soldier and injuring two more in an area near the Lebanese border.

“Israeli” soldiers killed four armed Palestinians as they set out from the Palestinian West Bank city of Qalqilya into an area under “Israeli” control, the “Israeli” army spokesman said. The Palestinians had opened fire a short time earlier on an “Israeli” car driving to a nearby Jewish settlement, the spokesman said.

“Israeli” responded to the Hizbullah attack with air strikes and an artillery barrage, its first such cross–border attack since the army withdrew from southern Lebanon in May, ending two decades of occupation.

Also, “Israeli” troops and Palestinians engaged in minor clashes Sunday. Soldiers returned fire from Palestinian gunmen in the West Bank city of Hebron, the southern Gaza Strip, and the southern edge of Jerusalem. Several stone–throwing confrontations in the West Bank were also reported.

The only fatality was a Palestinian who died in the Gaza Strip from head wounds suffered in a clash six days earlier, Palestinian doctors said.

Barak, who was a general before becoming a politician, pointed to his years in the army and assured “Israelis” that he knew how to handle the current conflict that has left more than 270 people dead, most of them Palestinians.

"Never has an “Israeli” government used such great force against the Palestinians – (including) rockets, tanks, and returning fire when needed," Barak said in an interview with “Israel” radio.

Still, Barak said he was pursuing diplomatic efforts to salvage seven years of peacemaking with the Palestinians. Foreign Minister Shlomo Ben–Ami was tentatively scheduled to travel Monday to Russia for talks on the Mideast crisis.

Ben–Ami said his trip to Russia is not part of any Russian effort at mediation, but to "compare notes." The trip may be put off until Tuesday to include stops for talks in Norway, Denmark and Sweden. But the United States will continue to be the leader in international mediation efforts, he added.

Ben–Ami said Arafat has been sending signals in the past few days saying he wants to end the violence. "We have an interest in putting these signals to the test," Ben–Ami told “Israeli” Channel 1 television.

Palestinians have accused the United States of favoring “Israel” in peace talks and have been pressing for increased international involvement since the clashes began at the end of September.

Also, “Israeli” cabinet minister Amnon Lipkin–Shahak held a secret meeting Saturday night in the Gaza Strip with Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat. Arafat's spokesman Marwan Kanafani described the meeting as "very important" but would not give further details.

Two senior “Israeli” army officers met their Palestinian counterparts Sunday with the declared aim of seeking ways to halt the violence, officials on both sides said.

One of the Palestinian officers, Abdul Razak Majaida, said later in a press release that the meeting was a "waste of time" and the Palestinian uprising will continue.

Arafat discussed the conflict with “Israel” Sunday in telephone conversations with Jordan's King Abdullah and U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan, Palestinian officials said, but they gave no details of the conversations.

Barak's security adviser Danny Yatom met Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak in Cairo on Sunday in a bid to halt a deterioration in relations. Egypt recalled its ambassador to “Israel” last week, part of an Egyptian protest against “Israel’s” role in the violence with the Palestinians.

Footnotes:

1-      The Daily Star, 27-11-2000.

2-      AFP, 26-11-2000.

3-      Same source.

4-      Independent, 27-11-2000.