Hundreds of Lebanese militia members want compensation from “Israel”

“ Hundreds of members of the defunct pro-”Israeli” militia are seeking compensation for their service to the Jewish state, “Israeli” public radio reported Monday.

The militiamen, who have been in “Israel” since they fled Lebanon amid “Israeli” troops' withdrawal from the country, have asked Yaacov Weinroth, one of the country's leading lawyers, to represent them, the radio said.

Weinroth told the radio his 300 or so clients "plan to demand compensation from the state for the years during which they served “Israel”, for the goods and assets they left behind in their country of origin and for the emotional and material damage they have suffered."

He added that he was going to demand that a judicial committee be set up "with the job of fixing the criteria for receiving compensation."

More than 6,000 Lebanese, mostly militiamen and their families, have settled in “Israel” since the Jewish state completed its 22-year occupation of Lebanon on May 24.

Lebanese military courts have since June 5 judged some 2,200 Lebanese on charges of collaborating with “Israel”, giving them jail terms ranging from a few months to 15 years.

AFP, 7-8-2000.