Introduction
The "Israeli" proxy militia ended its seventeen-year old occupation of Jezzine region in Southern Lebanon, yesterday, when the last convoy pulled out in the dead of night. All night, the collaborators destroyed positions around the enclave and set fire to the ammunition, artillery cannons, tanks and armored personnel carriers. Explosions could be heard for miles and flares lit up overhead.

Meanwhile, Hizbullah Secretary General H.E. Sayyed Hassan Nassrallah warned that the Islamic Resistance (IR) militants would fire rockets into the "Israeli" settlements inside the occupied Palestine if the civilians in Jezzine are hit by the "Israeli" shelling.

Militia completes retreat from Jezzine…(1)
""Israeli" occupation's militia, so-called South Lebanon Army, ended its 17-year-old occupation of the Jezzine enclave on Thursday, leaving a trail of abandoned equipment and positions as it retreated into "Israeli"-occupied areas.

"Residents of the salient, which borders the occupied zone, woke up to find the militia had, before dawn, quit all the towns and villages it had occupied since 1985.

"Due to fear of more Islamic Resistance blows, the militia, which had destroyed its positions around the enclave throughout the night, left smoldering tanks, burning armored personnel carriers and exploding ammunition.Blackened documents lying in opened drawers were blown about in the wind.

"Gone? Are they really gone? Thank God we're safe," one Jezzine resident said, looking around incredulously.

"Lebanese police set up a checkpoint at the entrance to the town. The army has a small unit in the center of Jezzine and on Wednesday set up barricades on the road between the town and Sidon. Customs authorities also set up barriers along the route to prevent the smuggling of "Israeli" goods into Lebanon.

"Throughout the night, militiamen destroyed positions around the enclave and set fire to ammunition and artillery. Explosions could be heard for miles and flames lit up the sky.

"Security sources said that by morning, about 30 tanks and armored personnel carriers, along with trucks carrying militiamen's families and belongings, had crossed into the "Israeli"-occupied strip through Kfar Houna, a village five km (three miles) south, which is the new entry point into the zone.

"Scenes of devastation marred the picturesque road between Jezzine and the 200-person village, with signs that the militia had beat a hasty retreat. IR on Wednesday it had attacked the militia's convoys heading to Kfar Houna.

"Overturned tanks, with oil dripping, lay all over the road. Detached tank barrels poked up from craters caused by shelling. Some vehicles were doused in gasoline but left intact after militiamen left in such a hurry they did not have time to set them alight.

Sayyed Nasrallah: if Jezzine is bombarded we will shell the Zionist Settlements…(2)
"Hizbullah's Secretary General his Eminence Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah cautioned the "Israeli" entity against attacking the Jezzine enclave after the pullout of the occupation's militia or face rocket attacks on occupied northern Palestine.

"Once the withdrawal is complete, Jezzine will become just like Sidon and Nabatieh, and the April Understanding will apply to it," he said, referring to a 1996 accord that bans attacks on civilian targets.

"Any assault on Jezzine will be met with attacks on occupied northern Palestine," he told attendants at a ceremony to mark the death anniversary of Imam Khomeini held at the Iranian Embassy in Beirut.

"On Thursday, the Secretary General stressed that the "great victory realized by liberating Jezzine will
result in larger collapses in the "Israeli" enemy's army and its collaborators' militia whose morale had already fallen".

"Sayyed Nasrallah's speech came at the honorary ceremony for the employees and volunteers of the Association for Supporting the Islamic Resistance.

"We are witnessing, nowadays, the most sacred and dignified resistance in the history of the Arab-Zionist struggle" his Eminence stated, emphasizing that the humiliating defeat of the "Israeli" occupation and its collaborators on our land from 1985 until the liberation of Jezzine, is the only experience of its kind in this 50-year struggle.

"Everybody is talking about the Islamic Resistance (IR) in Lebanon, saying that IR is the pride of the Lebanese people, Arabs, Muslims and every suppressed person. This Resistance has proved that what happened in 1985 was not a coincidence (in reference to the first "Israeli" withdrawal). The proof is that we drove the enemy out without any conditions from Beirut, the southern suburbs, the mountain, western Beqaa, Sidon, Tyre, Nabatieh and all the surrounding villages, Sayyed Nasrallah noted.

"Sayyed Nasrallah wondered why some were surprised by the classy patriotic conduct of Hizbullah regarding the way the party dealt with the liberation of the Jezzine area, saying "Hizbullah's performance has always been within this patriotic framework".

"It is natural for IR to be as alert as the battle requires, while defending the dignity and pride of the Ummah, his Eminence noted, stressing that the Jihad of Hizbullah is now, more than ever, a proof (that defeating the enemy is possible) for all Ulama, peoples and governments of the Islamic world".

“Israeli” agents leave rock for a hard place…(3)
"For “Johnny,” a seasoned veteran of Christian militias, the prospect of encountering multiple roadside bomb attacks on the final retreat from Jezzine to Kfar Houna was a fate to be treated with war-weary disdain.

“The worst thing that can happen to us is we get killed,” he said between swigs from a bottle of whisky.

"Johnny and his three militia comrades were the last of the SLA* forces to pull back from Jezzine on Thursday. Manning a checkpoint beneath the landmark statue of the Virgin Mary at the western entrance to Jezzine, the four SLA men were tasked with blocking the road with their armored personnel carrier until the rest of the militia had evacuated the town.

"The militiamen knew that they stood a strong chance of being killed that night on the way to Kfar Houna.

"They were to travel in the APC with only two Mercedes sedans for company ­ without air cover or any other protection. Their route was to take them along the narrow, twisting mountain road between Jezzine and Kfar Houna, 7 kilometers to the south. The new front line begins 1,500 meters below Kfar Houna.

"The route, threatened by countless roadside bombs and under constant observation by Hizbullah fighters in the hills, had become a virtual death trap for the retreating militia.

"When the SLA began its pullback from the Jezzine enclave Monday night, the resistance smashed a convoy of vehicles with two roadside bombs, killing one militiaman and wounding another.

Eighteen-year-old “Manny” was clearly unnerved at what Hizbullah might have in store for him. Constantly fiddling with the strap of his AK-47, he tried to smile for photographers but could only manage a nervous grimace.

"He said he had joined the militia at the age of 14 “to avoid having to go to school.”

Now, although desperate to leave the militia, he was trapped between possible death with the SLA and certain arrest and imprisonment at the hands of the Lebanese authorities.

“Nimr,” who like Johnny had fought for the Lebanese Forces militia during the civil war before joining the SLA in 1990, recounted his life story to reporters. Listening to the nonchalant description of the horrific chronology of events that comprise his 32 years, it gradually

dawned that Nimr was making a final testimony to the media before disappearing back into the netherworld of militia life and possible violent death.

“The war in 1975 was good,” he said in broken English. “Christians killed Muslims and Muslims killed Christians. It was a clean war and made men of us.”

Johnny and Nimr said they had served in several front line outposts such as Sojod and Bir Kallab. Both had fought close-quarter battles with the resistance and both had been wounded several times.

“The fighting in Sojod was a good war,” said Johnny as he fed an ammunition belt into a heavy machine gun".

"They were clearly uncertain about their futures once the "Israeli" Army withdraws from Lebanon, but all agreed that the war had gone on for too long. “We need to finish this war,” said Nimr. “The "Israelis" pay me $500 a month ­ I can’t live on this.”

"Just before 2pm, a Mercedes screeched to a halt behind the parked APC and the order to evacuate was given.

"Manny’s face was a numb mask of fear as he clambered with bovine resignation into the back of the APC. Nimr followed him and gave a brief smile and a wave to reporters before slamming the steel door.

"As Johnny bade a solemn farewell to the reporters by politely shaking their hands, the poignancy of the moment belied his rough appearance and fiery rhetoric. “Our fate is now in the hands of God,” he said quietly as he climbed into the cockpit of the APC".

"Taking a final slug of whisky and drag on his cigarette, Johnny gunned the engine and, without a backward glance, disappeared into the darkness of the road south of Jezzine.

It would take them no more than 15 minutes to drive to Kfar Houna in the APC. If Hizbullah was to attack them it would be clearly audible in Jezzine".

"But the only explosions to be heard that night came from the Ain Toghra outpost above Jezzine ­ where members of the militia had dynamited the munitions they had been unable to take with them".

Hoss hails ‘steadfast’ Jezzine…(4)
"Prime Minister Salim Hoss on Thursday congratulated Jezzine residents on their liberation and expressed hopes that the same will happen to the residents of the "Israeli"-occupied zone.

“The steadfastness of Jezzine residents in their land and the heroic operations of the resistance have forced the "Israeli"-allied militiamen to withdraw without any conditions or security arrangements,” Hoss said.

"He told reporters he had learned that the SLA had finished its withdrawal from the Jezzine enclave and that police patrols had entered the area to take charge of security.

“I’m sure that the awareness of our compatriots who live in the liberated areas and their national sentiments are capable of foiling any "Israeli" attempt to disturb their happiness with their liberation,” he added.

"A source close to Hoss said that SLA members who hail from Jezzine and have refused to leave the area after laying down their arms “must place themselves under the disposal of the government, which will look into each of their cases separately.”

Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee chairman, Tyre MP Ali Khalil, said after meeting Hoss earlier in the day: “The liberated areas are now subject to the 1996 April Understanding,” which bans the targeting of civilian areas or their use as launching sites for attacks.

"He said that “the "Israeli" enemy has failed to implement a plot to instigate national strife in Lebanon and separate the Lebanese and Syrian tracks of the Middle East peace process.”

Khalil called for “caution and awareness in this critical stage” following Ehud Barak’s election as "Israeli" prime minister. “We will not return to the negotiating table unless the talks resume from the point they reached before the 1996 deadlock.

“This means that before the talks restart, the "Israelis" must admit that a just and comprehensive peace cannot be achieved if they don’t withdraw from the south, the western Beqaa and the Golan Heights,” he added.

"A delegation from the National Bloc, headed by party official Ibrahim Estephan, also held talks with Hoss on Jezzine. “Our view is that the region should be controlled fully by the government and that the head of the SLA, Antoine Lahd, should be tried for treason,” Estephan said.

“We also told the prime minister that SLA members who have deserted their militia should be given 10 days or so to put themselves at the government’s disposal".

"The National Bloc, led by Raymond Edde from his self-imposed exile in Paris, had called for deploying the army in the area evacuated by the SLA.

“Hoss told us that sending the army to Jezzine could be a trap for the armed forces,” Estephan said, referring to the government’s refusal to send troops to the area. “But we still believe that Jezzine should be run exclusively by the government.”

"A delegation from the Syrian Social Nationalist Party, headed by the party’s president, Ali Qanso, said that the SLA dissidents “should not be pardoned because they’re traitors.”

Gen Suleiman: withdrawal resulted from heroic Resistance blows…(5)
"Army commander Gen Michel Suleiman Thursday said the collaborating militia's withdrawal from Jezzine is the result of the heroic Resistance blows and due to the steadfastness and sacrifices of the army forces on the front lines with the "Israeli" enemy".

"Gen Suleiman stressed that the Lebanese army carries out the orders of the political authority which realizes where and when the national interest lies".

"The army does not work by "Israeli" timing but by Lebanese one, Gen Suleiman continued, stating that "the army will not participate in any partial arrangements, be this part small or large, and it will deter any attempt to separate the Lebanese and Syrian tracks, regardless of the shape and kind of the attempt".

Military Operations…(6)
The IR team of martyr Amin Mustafa Melhem attacked, at 6:00, an "Israeli" foot-patrol at Mount Abou Rkab with the machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades. The mujahedeen managed to score direct and definite goals.

Also, the IR men spotted, at 10:30, enemy movements inside Zimraya post. Immediately afterwards, the IR squad of martyr Hassan Shamas in the Artillery Reinforcement Unit (ARU) bombarded them chalking up direct hits.

Five minutes later, the IR group of martyr Hassan Ali Al-Zein reiterated targeting the "Israeli" foot-patrol at Mount Abou Rkab with the proper arms. Direct and certain hits were scored, the militants reported.

Earlier, the fighters of the Lebanese Resistance Brigades (LRB) attacked, at 00:15, Soweida outpost with the adequate weapons scoring direct hits.

One hour later, the fighters of LRB spotted enemy movements inside Dabsheh outpost. Shortly afterwards, the fighters targeted them with the appropriate arms chalking up direct goals.

UN denounced killing a Unifil soldier…(7)
"The United Nations Security Council on Wednesday condemned the attack against a U.N. peacekeeper in Lebanon.

"William Kedian, a member of the Irish contingent of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon, was killed Monday by a mortar round fired by the "Israeli" occupation forces.

"The members of the Security Council expressed their deep sympathy and condolences to the family of the victim".

"The members of the Council condemned any action that violates the non-combatant status of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon".

"Israeli" Aggressions…(8)
The "Israeli" occupying troops staged the following aggressions as reported in a communiqué issued by the IR:
1:20, the perimeters of Nabatieh El-Fawqa exposed to 12.7mm heavy machine gun fire.
1:25, seven rounds struck the area between Maifadoun and Nabatieh El-Fawqa.
1:30, a barrage of 12.7mm heavy machine gun bullets hit the surroundings of Dabsheh outpost and the peripheries of Nabatieh El-Fawqa.
6:25, the outskirts of Jibaa town subjected to six 155mm missiles.
7:05, several 155mm missiles were fired at Kfour ravine.
22:40, Mount Safi was shelled by five 120mm missiles.
22:45, several flare shells were fired over the village and position of Houla.