"Israeli" Aggressions

Armed forces warn that further Hizbollah attacks on "Israeli" soldiers or civilians will lead to retaliation against troops in Lebanon(1)

"Israel" is threatening Syria with air strikes against its military bases in Lebanon if there are further border attacks on "Israeli" soldiers or civilians by Hizbollah guerrillas.

Such warnings were common during "Israel's "occupation of south Lebanon but they have resumed following fresh Hizbollah attacks. They raise anew the alarming spectre of a wider Middle East conflict.

The threat against Syria's 20,000 troops in Lebanon was outlined yesterday by a senior "Israeli" security source. He said Syria possessed the power to rein in Hizbollah, but instead Bashar al-Assad, its president, encouraged it. The Syrians did not understand the consequences of their "dangerous policies", said the source.

Hizbollah recently renewed attacks on "Israel", capturing four soldiers in the last two months and killing one with a roadside bomb. It is acting on the pretext that "Israel" is still occupying the Shebaa Farms, a small pocket of what it claims was occupied by "Israel" as part of the Golan Heights. The United Nations has ruled it to be on the "Israeli" side of the "blue line" that marks out the "Israeli"-occupied Golan from Lebanon.

"Israel's "annoyance with Syria's new young president has been heightened by disappointment that he has not proved any more likely to succumb to "Israeli" demands than his father, Hafez al-Assad, who died in June. The bizarre, but widely circulated notion that "Dr Bashar's" British training as an ophthalmologist and his interest in computers would soften his stance on Syrian interests – making him, in western eyes, a relative "moderate" – has predictably proved to be no more than diplomatic guff.

The "Israeli" military is alarmed by Bashar al-Assad's eagerness to forge closer relations with Iraq in contrast to his father, whose hostility towards Saddam Hussein reached a peak in 1991 when he supported Operation Desert Storm. Last month Izzat Ibrahim, a member of the Revolutionary Command Council, was the most senior Iraqi official for two decades to visit Damascus. Reports abound that Iraq is piping oil to Syria in defiance of sanctions.

Bashar al-Assad "was expected to be more moderate due to his western education," said the "Israeli" security source, who requested anonymity. "But he is behaving just the opposite way. He is very extreme. He has turned very hard in the direction of the Iraqis." If "Israel" gets embroiled in a conflict with Damascus, the source warned, then Iraq would be "delighted" to join in.

This week, "Israel" bombarded a Lebanese town after a Hizbollah bomb killed one of its soldiers. But Ehud Barak, the "Israeli" prime minister, has held back from retaliation over the captured men – three soldiers and a reserve colonel – because he did not want to open another front while battling the Palestinian intifada.

"Israeli" troops shot dead two more Palestinians yesterday – one, a 12-year-old boy – after unrest erupted following the first Friday prayers of Ramadan.

Although the "Israeli" Army principally blame the Syrian president for their embarrassing setbacks at the hands of Hizbollah, it is also pointing a finger at the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon. It claims that the guerrillas who seized the three soldiers were disguised as UN peacekeepers, using equipment acquired from an Indian battalion. A UN spokesman has called the report incorrect. The story does, however, smack of a larger "Israeli" publicity campaign – an effort to undermine Palestinian efforts to persuade the United Nations to send an observer force to the occupied territories.

Lebanese shepherd looses foot after stepping on landmine(2)

An 18-year-old Lebanese shepherd had to have his foot amputated Friday after he stepped on a landmine in southern Lebanon, police said.

Abbas Ali Fakih was injured when the mine exploded near the town of Bent Jbeil in the former "Israeli"-occupied border zone in southern Lebanon.

Nine civilians have been killed and 55 others injured by mines since the May 24 "Israeli" withdrawal from southern Lebanon. A dozen Lebanese troops were also injured during mine clearing operations.

The UN estimates that there are at least 130,000 "Israeli" mines and unexploded shells remaining in southern Lebanon.

On November 14, the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon announced that its mine clearing units had removed 1,520 explosive devices.

1 - Independent 2-12-2000

2 - AFP 1-12-2000

Hizbullah scoffs at Jewish state’s threats to attack
‘Any aggression will cost the enemy a high price’…(1)

The mounting war of words between Hizbullah and “Israel” stepped up over the weekend with the resistance warning that the Jewish state would pay a “high price” for launching attacks into Lebanon.
“The enemy is incapable of committing any stupid or hostile adventure against Lebanon, since any aggression will cost the enemy a high price via the response of the resistance,” Mohammed Raad, the head of Loyalty to Resistance Bloc, said in a speech Sunday in Ainata.
“The “Israeli” threats express the enemy’s fear,” said Raad, “that resistance operations will continue or become more intensive on the Shibaa Farms front, putting it in a bind in Lebanon as it deals with the problem it faces in Palestine due to the intifada.
“Through its threats,” he added, “the enemy is trying to find a gap in the national consensus about the resistance, which is determined to return the last bit of our occupied land in the Shibaa Farms and elsewhere.”
A senior “Israeli” security source delivered a stern warning to Syria on Friday that if Hizbullah continued its attacks in the Shibaa Farms, “Israel” might respond with assaults on Syrian troops in Lebanon.
The source said that Hizbullah’s operations against “Israel” in the Shibaa Farms could lead to a regional conflict pitting “Israel” against Syria and Iraq.
The US warned Syria last week that further Hizbullah attacks could lead to massive retaliation. Lebanon’s ambassador to Washington, Farid Abboud, received similar warnings last week from a senior official with the National Security Council in Washington.
A European diplomat closely involved in the peace process said that the international community was seriously concerned that events in the Middle East may spin out of control. He likened the escalation to a series of expanding concentric circles.
In the center is the intifada in the West Bank and Gaza, which has encouraged Hizbullah to launch military operations against the “Israelis” in the Shibaa Farms. If “Israel” fulfills its threat to attack Syrian military targets in Lebanon, the fighting could escalate to a war between the two countries.
Iraq, which is having a rapprochement with Syria, may feel encouraged to side with Syria in a conflict with “Israel”. Other Arab states, including Egypt and Jordan, would face increasing pressure to ally themselves with Syria and Iraq.
The diplomat said that there was a strong mood in “Israel” to “teach the Lebanese a lesson.” This sentiment is tempered by the potential backlash against an assault on Lebanon.
The diplomat said that the air assault on Gaza on Nov. 20 in retaliation for the fatal attack on a bus carrying Jewish settlers had backfired. US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright described the air raid as “inappropriate” and Egypt recalled its ambassador.
“Albright’s response surprised the “Israelis” and the recall of the Egyptian ambassador was a big shock,” the source said.
Consequently, “Israel” will carefully weigh the benefits of satisfying public opinion with an attack on Lebanon against the potential cost in diplomatic terms as well as an upsurge in violence in northern “Israel”.
“The watchword in “Israel” at the moment is ‘smart, focused action,’” the diplomat said.
Information Minister Ghazi Aridi accused “Israeli” Premier Ehud Barak of trying to distract attention from an internal political crisis by threatening to attack Syria and Lebanon.
““Israel” is threatening us to get out of the crisis it’s stuck in. We won’t be surprised if something happens. Lebanon won’t give in to “Israeli” pressure,” Aridi said on Egypt’s Sawt al-Arab Radio.
Syria’s Ath-Thawra newspaper said Saturday that “Israel” was preparing “plans for aggression” against Syria.
““Israel” makes threats, and we should take them seriously,” it warned, “because “Israel” has always turned to aggression to escape from internal problems.”
Ath-Thawra went on to say that “the “Israelis” prefer to ignore the fact that Syria will never compromise on national sovereignty or on (demands for) an “Israeli” withdrawal from the Golan to the (demarcation) line of June 4, 1967.”
Meanwhile, it added, “we are consolidating our defensive military capacity because no strategy, even of peace, is possible without force.”
Jordanian Ambassador Anmar Hammoud, who met Premier Rafik Hariri on Saturday, said: “I don’t think that “Israel” is going to undertake any new adventure against … Syria, Lebanon or any other Arab state.”
“I don’t think the threats are real,” he said, “but aim to contain the domestic situation.”

Diplomats interpret “Israeli” warnings…(2)

Foreign Ministry sources said Sunday that “Israel” had three objectives when it warned Syria to stop Hizbullah from attacking “Israeli” troops.
The first goal was related to “Israel’s” security. Despite increased “Israeli” security measures, the sources said, Hizbullah had repeatedly succeeded in carrying out operations within areas still occupied by “Israel”.
The sources said that a disagreement had arisen between the army’s general command and the command of northern “Israel”, which advocates a heavy military response.
The “Israeli” Army’s general command, meanwhile, believes that any response to Hizbullah must be limited, so as not to escalate the conflict or encourage Hizbullah to respond with more sophisticated weapons.
The sources added that an “Israeli” warning on Friday of a heavy strike was taken seriously, as it comes on the heels of similar US and European warnings about curbing Hizbullah attacks.
The sources said the second objective was economic: by striking at Lebanese infrastructure and utilities, “Israel” might hope to paralyze the state’s attempt to get back on its feet.
The third objective was to increase “Israeli” Prime Minister Ehud Barak’s popularity prior to the “Israeli” elections next May.
But European and Arab diplomatic sources ruled out the possibility of a large-scale “Israeli” strike against Lebanon or Syrian troops. Such an attack, they said, would lead Hizbullah to retaliate, which would halt the regional peace process indefinitely.
Thus, instead of escalating the conflict, they said “Israel” would confine itself to a more “limited response.”
The same sources said “Israel’s” warning could lead to a temporary freeze in Hizbullah activities. It would also allow UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan to mediate a solution to both the disputed Shibaa Farms and the Lebanese detainees before the end of January, the date for renewing UNIFIL’s term.

Land mines wound five in South over weekend…(3)

Luck finally ran out for Mohammed Sweid and his brother, Ali, when they tried to defuse their 76th mine near their home in Dibbine in the South. The two young boys were rushed to hospital on Saturday after a mine thought to have been left behind by “Israeli” troops exploded near them.
Mohammed Hijazi, 25, who detonated the mine, had his left leg amputated and was also treated for burns.
Sweid, 8, and his five-year-old brother, Ali, were near Hijazi when the mine exploded, and were injured in the face and legs. Both were taken to Marjayoun Public Hospital.
Mohammed and Ali had dismantled around 75 anti-personnel mines in a field near their home before the “Israeli” withdrawal in May.
From his hospital bed, Mohammed described the events that led to the explosion on Saturday. He said that he and his brother were fixing their bicycle when Hijazi, whom they did not know, asked Ali to accompany him to the mine field.
Hijazi told the boys that he wanted to inform the army about the field so that it would be cleared of mines. Hijazi and Ali had dismantled four land mines by the time Mohammed joined them. He suddenly saw Hijazi stepping on a land mine.
“I told him not to lift his foot because there was a mine under it,” Mohammed said. “He didn’t take me seriously, but I was quick enough to push my brother on the ground and lie over him before it exploded.”
Hijazi had lifted his foot and the mine exploded in his face. “I saw parts of his foot flying with the explosion and he fell on the ground shouting,” Mohammed recalled. He then ran to his house where his mother called for help.
Mohammed said he learned to dismantle mines from a documentary on “Israeli” television.
“I wasn’t afraid,” said Mohammed, “because I quickly learned that the mine’s detonator should not be touched.” The brothers stored the defused mines on the roof of their home.
On Sunday morning, after his release from the hospital, Ali was back playing near the scene of the explosion. He gestured to the mine field and said that soldiers had inspected  and cordoned off the area. About 28 land mines were found on the site.
Mohammed and Ali’s father Ahmad, a 55-year-old taxi driver, said he knew that his two children dismantled mines and repeatedly forbade them from doing so, in vain.
Unexploded ordnance and land mines claimed two other victims over the weekend.
Alaa Merhi, 17, was seriously wounded on Sunday by an artillery shell that exploded while he was trying to defuse it in Qaaqaaiet al-Jisr.
Merhi was taken to the Najda Shaabiya Hospital in Nabatieh where he received first-aid treatment before being rushed to Rizk Hospital in Beirut due to serious injuries to his eyes.
Security sources said Merhi found an 81mm mortar shell near his home and was trying to open it when it exploded. They said the shell had been left behind by “Israeli” troops.
In Braachit on Saturday, Issam Missilmani, 25, lost both feet when he stepped on a land mine near an old “Israeli”-allied militia outpost.
Missilmani was taken to an Irish UNIFIL position and then transferred to Jabal Amel Hospital in Tyre.

1-     The Daily Star, 4-12-2000.

2-     The Daily Star, 4-12-2000.

3-     The Daily Star, 4-12-2000.

“Israeli” airforce flies over southern Lebanon…(1)

“ The “Israeli” airforce flew over southern Lebanon Monday and followed the Anti-Lebanon mountain range up to Baalbek, 100 kilometers (60 miles) east of Beirut, Lebanese police said.

“Israeli” warplanes flew over the zone formerly occupied by the Jewish state as well as the Iqlim at-Tuffah region.

The “Israeli” fighters broke the sound barrier above the city of Baalbek, provoking a loud boom.

“Israel” has intensified its military flights over southern Lebanon.

“Israeli” fighter-bombers and helicopters fired missiles at targets in southern Lebanon on November 26.

According to the United Nations, “Israel” violated Lebanon's airspace 123 times between October 8 and November 7.

Lebanon has filed several complaints to the UN against “Israeli” flights over its territory, saying they were a violation of the Security Council Resolution 425 stipulating “Israel’s” complete withdrawal from southern Lebanon.

Syria warns “Israel” of a response to threats…(2)

In response to the recent “Israeli” and U.S. threats, Syria asserted via western diplomatic channels that any attack on Syria will be followed by a Syrian attack on “Israel”.

The Syrian response came with movements of the Syrian troops deployed in Lebanon.

UN troops may be deployed to Shibaa Farms…(3)

The United Nations and the United States are considering proposals to deploy troops from UNIFIL or peacekeepers based in Syria to the Shibaa Farms in an attempt to defuse tensions in the area.
A senior UN source said the proposal was part of a “multi-channel approach” to pressure Lebanon and Syria to halt Hizbullah attacks in the Shibaa Farms and send Lebanese troops to the border with “Israel”.
The source said that the proposal to deploy peacekeepers in the Farms originated from “Israel” and is being considered by the United Nations.
According to the source, “Israel” suggested deploying UNIFIL troops or soldiers belonging to the UN Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF), which has monitored the cease-fire on the Golan Heights since May 1974.
The Shibaa Farms lies outside both the UNIFIL and UNDOF areas of operation. UNDOF soldiers, however, are permitted by the “Israelis” to patrol the Farms occasionally.
The United States has “taken an interest” in the idea, the source added.
A Western diplomat located in Beirut dismissed the proposal as unrealistic.
“It’s as if by sending a couple of UN soldiers to the Shibaa Farms, a regional war will be averted,” the diplomat said.
Deploying UNIFIL troops to the Shibaa Farms would be a tacit recognition of Lebanon’s sovereignty over the area, the diplomat added.
The Shibaa Farms were excluded from UNIFIL’s mandate as defined by Resolution 425. The UN has said that as the Shibaa Farms is patrolled by UNDOF, the fate of the area must be decided in peace talks between Syria and “Israel”.
The proposal is not expected to become reality, however. The deployment of UNIFIL and UNDOF forces is subject to authorization by the Lebanese and Syrian governments, respectively. Neither government is likely to sanction the deployment of UN peacekeepers into the Farms.
Nonetheless, the proposal coincides with a concerted effort by the international community to pressure Lebanon and Syria into preventing Hizbullah from attacking “Israeli” forces in the Shibaa Farms.
“Israel” warned Friday that Syrian military posts might be targeted if Hizbullah continues  attacks against “Israeli” forces.

Lahoud urges UNIFIL to intensify de-mining work…(4)

A spate of recent land mine accidents spurred President Emile Lahoud on Monday to demand that UNIFIL be informed of the necessity of intensifying mine clearance in the South.
Lahoud also said he considered the land-mine victims as casualties of war, describing their condition as indicative of the continuing “Israeli” occupation and its negative effect on the life of southerners.
Meanwhile, the minister of energy and water urged Prime Minister Rafik Hariri to request logistical support from Europe in clearing mines.
“The issue of de-mining has to become the issue of the international community and assistance encouraged,” Mohammed Abdel-Hamid Beydoun said, commenting on the six people wounded in mine-related incidents in the last three days.
“This problem must not expand. We should not see innocent victims fall as a result of the incapacity of Lebanese institutions or establishments to face the problem,” Beydoun said.
He suggested Lebanon submit a file to the United Nations demanding that “Israel” be held accountable for laying the mines and seeking compensation.
“Lebanon must call for a conference similar to the donors’ conference to mobilize the international community on the issue of mines,” he said.
The issue was also raised by Tyre MP Abdullah Qasir and Marjayoun-Hasbaya MP Qassem Hashem, who demanded immediate help for the completion of the de-mining process.
Qasir demanded that the government consider the issue one of its priorities and pressed for more intensive awareness campaigns. He also asked the government to contact friendly states to find a quick solution to the problem of mines.

1-     AFP, 4-12-2000.

2-     Manar TV, 4-12-2000.

3-     The Daily Star, 5-12-2000.

4-     Same source.

“Israelis” wound young hunter along border…(2)

“Israeli” forces shot and wounded a 16-year-old boy on the “Israel” borders, United Nations sources said Tuesday.
Habib Srur was shot in the right leg while on a hunting trip in Aita Shaab village, a few meters from the border.
The area faces the “Israeli” settlement of Zarit. Two Palestinian protesters were shot and killed in the same area by “Israeli” soldiers while demonstrating with a group in October.
Srur was found by a Nepalese UNIFIL patrol, who took him by ambulance to a UN field hospital in Naqoura and then to Sidon.
The UN said it opened an investigation into the incident, the circumstances of which remain unknown.
In a separate incident, a Syrian man who wandered into “Israel” Tuesday told “Israeli” police he entered by mistake after failing to find work in Lebanon.
Rifai Salem Odah, 31, was caught by the police and said he had mistakenly crossed the border during the night while trying to return home from a failed job search in Lebanon.
The police said they detained Odah after he crossed “Israel’s” northern border with Lebanon at the Shibaa region.
An “Israeli” woman working in the fields of the Dan communal farm some 10 kilometers south of the border, alerted the “Israeli” police after she found Odah wandering near the border town of Ghajar.
“Israeli” security forces were investigating how someone could unknowingly cross that far into the country. ­

1-     The Daily Star, 6-12-2000.

Lahoud warns Lebanon has taken "precautions" against “Israeli” aggression…(1)

Lebanese President Emile Lahoud has said Lebanon is prepared for eventual “Israeli” attacks upon its soil, and reiterated his refusal to deploy Lebanese troops along the “Israeli” border.

"We follow nearly all of the “Israeli” government's statements and take precautions to face “Israel’s” eventual attacks, of which it is capable," Lahoud was quoted as saying in press reports Wednesday.

On Friday, “Israel” threatened to target Syrian forces in Lebanon if Hizbullah continued its raids upon “Israeli” troops in the Shibaa farms.

Lahoud, speaking to visiting heads of Arab news agencies, dismissed the notion that Lebanon's military had any responsibility to protect “Israel’s” borders, especially from Hizbullah guerillas.

"It is out of the question, at the moment, to deploy our army along the border, in direct contact with the enemy, while we remain in a state of war with “Israel”, who has repeatedly attacked us by land, sea and air," Lahoud said.

On November 9, despite UN requests, Lahoud announced his refusal to deploy troops along the border as "definitive" and not up for discussion.

1-     AFP, 6-12-2000.

“Israel” trains commandos for kidnapping Lebanese: newspaper report…(1)

“ “Israel” is carrying out intensive training of commandos to carry out kidnappings in Lebanon using helicopters, the al-Kifah al-Arabi daily said Thursday, quoting security sources.

"“Israeli” armed forces have carried out intensive training for operations they planned to carry out in Lebanon, including attempted kidnappings of leading Lebanese figures, involving helicopters," according to the daily.

"The fly-overs of “Israeli” helicopers and planes which have been happening recently are part of the preparations for such operations," the paper continued.

According to the United Nations, “Israeli” planes violated Lebanese air space 123 times during the period from October 8 to November 7.

Call goes out for help to remove mines…(2)

Foreign Minister Mahmoud Hammoud said Thursday that intensive contacts were underway with friendly states, specialized agencies, and the UN to help rid Lebanon of over 130,000 mines planted in the South by “Israel” prior to its withdrawal last May.
Speaking to reporters, Hammoud said the contacts, undertaken via ambassadors accredited in Beirut or Lebanese embassies abroad, focused on providing assistance to detonate the mines. He added that assistance could be provided in the form of equipment, training, and experts.
“These mines are intolerable, in view of the casualties that they have caused,” he said.
Hammoud also suggested that the Cabinet would soon be involved, indicating that it would consider a Defense Ministry plan to de-mine. During Wednesday’s Cabinet session, Energy and Water Resources Minister Mohammed Abdel-Hamid Beydoun called for a “comprehensive plan” to remove the mines.

1-      AFP, 7-12-2000.

2-      The Daily Star, 8-12-2000.

“Israeli” army strengthens its presence along border…(1)

Fortifying procedures along the Lebanese border continue in full swing around the clock to build outposts and military strongholds for the “Israeli” occupation forces.

Fortification works are centered especially in the Shibaa Farms and occupied Kfar Shouba Heights.

Along the blue-line drawn by the United Nations hundreds of vehicles are clearly seen at work to wrap up the electronic fence and to support major outposts.

1-    Manar TV, 9-12-2000.

Lahoud urges UN to step up mine-clearing…(1)

President Emile Lahoud said Monday that he hoped UNIFIL would continue to maintain peace in the South and remove life-threatening land mines.
Lahoud, who met with the personal representative of the UN secretary-general for southern Lebanon, Rolf Knutsson, urged the organization to “intensify” its search for mines.
Now finishing his term
in Lebanon, Knutsson bade Lahoud farewell and said that he was “honored and privileged to have had an opportunity over the past four months to work in Lebanon at a time when the country stands reunited after decades of occupation.”
He added that this achievement should be accompanied “as quickly as possible by a comprehensive, just and lasting peace in the Middle East.”
Knutsson said that “it is of vital importance to maintain peace and tranquillity along the Blue Line as an essential contribution to such a regional peace.”
Knutsson will be succeeded by Staffan de Mitsura, who is due to arrive in January.

Lebanese shepherd injured by “Israeli” shots in southern Lebanon…(2)

“ A Lebanese goat shepherd was lightly wounded Monday when “Israelis” shot on hills near Shibaa Farms sector, Lebanese police said.

Sixty-year-old Mohammad Zahra had his leg injured by shrapnel. An “Israeli” tank fired six shells and a burst of machine-gun fire in the late afternoon "very abruptly and despite no incident having been reported in the area," police said.

Twenty goats were killed by the shooting.

The Shibaa Farms area was captured by “Israel” from Syria in 1967 but Beirut recently laid claim to the area, a position backed by Damascus.

On November 26, Hizbullah led a bomb attack on the sector, killing an “Israeli” soldier.

“Israel” responded by saying it would launch heavy strikes on Lebanon if the attacks were not stopped.

In October, Hizbullah kidnapped three “Israeli” soldiers in the Shibaa Farms area in a bid to secure a prisoner swap with “Israel”.

South Lebanon slowly starts to lose its mines– but too late for some…(3)

Mohamed Sowaid is nine and has multiple shrapnel wounds. His brother Ali – equally mutilated – is only five. Issam Missilmani is a 33-year-old fisherman who had his right foot and left hand blown off.

Alaa Hussein is 17 and Mohamed Hijazi is 22; both were blown up, Mohamed losing his left foot. And they are just the mine casualties of southern Lebanon in one day this month.

In all, 11 civilians have been killed and at least 56 seriously wounded in the fields around their homes since the “Israeli” army retreated out of Lebanon in May, leaving behind 70,000 mines.

The figure is official. The four volumes of documents and minefield maps, which the withdrawing “Israeli” army handed to the United Nations after they ended their 22-year occupation of 10 per cent of Lebanon seven months ago are a history of warfare, of No 4 “Israeli” antipersonnel mines and No 10 plastic mines, of booby-traps and minefields atop minefields.

In all, the UN believes there are 130,000 mines and booby-traps and unexploded bombs scattered across the harsh, brown hills of southern Lebanon, some of them dating back to the French mandate and the Vichy French-Allied battles of the Second World War.

Fresh from 10 months in Kosovo, Don Macdonald, 46, from Forres in Grampian – after 22 years as an RAF bomb disposal officer – sits in his office at Naqqoura on the Lebanese-”Israeli” border with computer banks that show him the location of the tiniest bits of ordnance in the wadis and thickets of this dangerous countryside. The “Israelis” handed over a list of 288 booby-traps. At Kfar Roumane was "a [booby] trapped vest [flak jacket] and side charge", near Yohmor was "a trapped LAW [Light AntiArmour Weapon]". Both were left during the occupation for Hizbollah guerrillas to pick up.

Intriguingly, their location proves that the “Israelis” sent patrols right through the UN peace-keeping lines to leave these booby-traps close to the Litani river.

"So far, the UN's Ukrainian battalion has destroyed 2,135 mines to clear land used by UN troops. The Lebanese government has to de-mine most of southern Lebanon; and, so far, the authorities have scarcely started to fence off the minefields. One of the little boys so badly wounded had seen a television programme about mines and tragically decided to try his own hand at clearance.

There are Russian PMD-6 mines – left by the “Israelis” or the Palestinians – and French mines from 1947, left along the coast in the very last days of the mandate. In some places, “Israeli” minefields are planted on top of Second World War minefields, layers of Lebanon's terrifying history waiting to explode and re-explode under future generations. A three-man UN mine action coordination cell operates with the UN Interim Force in Lebanon, its New Zealand boss, Greg Lindstrom, paying tribute to the detail of the maps the “Israelis” handed over, which included suspected minefields left by earlier occupiers.

"There's a peace dividend to all this," he says. "Clearing minefields means that people can come back to their lands. I saw this in Mozambique. It's a great feeling to see these people return to farm their land." But the task that faces Lebanon, let alone the UN, is awesome. Of the “Israeli” mines, 50,644 lie along the UN's "blue line" – roughly corresponding to the international frontier – while another 48 clusters of minefields, containing 7,529 devices, are placed elsewhere.

Around every “Israeli” artillery position and outpost of “Israel’s” now defunct South Lebanon Army militia lie acres of ordnance waiting to explode. Children regularly play in the old redoubts; at least 45 of these have minefields round them. More than 288 “Israeli” booby-traps – including bombs disguised as rocks – lie undefused among the rocks and vegetation.

Are they inherently evil things, these lethal little creatures amid the dark, beautiful hills? "All weapons are," Mr Lindstrom says. Mr Macdonald is more philosophical. "In the hands of someone in the military, used in a military sense, mapped and taken away, that's one thing. It's the mines that are unmapped and left to kill others. It's not the mine that's the problem. It's the people who use them."

1-     The Daily Star, 12-12-2000.

2-     AFP, 11-12-2000.

3-     Independent, 11-12-2000.

Government rips “Israel”…(1)

The Cabinet accused “Israel” on Wednesday of obstructing peace and threatening Lebanese and Syrian security, and complained about attempts to “modify” the Blue Line in the South.
Information Minister Ghazi Aridi said the government sought strong cooperation with the UN but said certain “markings” on the Blue Line were being subject to tampering.
On Sunday, UNIFIL spokesman Timur Goksel denied that the UN had or would modify the line.

1-     The Daily Star, 14-12-2000.

.

 Lebanese Army experts tour on the Blue Line region(1)

A team of experts from the Lebanese Army, charged of monitoring the international frontiers, toured on the Blue Line area, at the flash-point of Fatima. The team conducted a survey in a point located between the two occupation posts of Rwaise and Rwaiset el Sammaka.

The team’s sources asserted that the dispute is not over two or even four hundred meters but over all the territories under the “Israeli” occupation, in Kfarshouba heights and Shebaa farms.

 Russia may help with mine-clearing in South (2)

Russian Ambassador Boris Polotin said Friday that his country was considering “suitable ways” of participating in the removal of thousands of land mines planted by “Israel” during its 22-year occupation of the South and the Western Bekaa.
“There are different kinds of participation and we’re considering the proper ways to do so,” he told reporters after meeting with Foreign Minister Mahmoud Hammoud for a review of bilateral relations.
Polotin said his country was following up the demining issue raised during a visit to Beirut on Wednesday by Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Sultanov.
Some reports said Russia was willing to help Lebanon remove the mines either directly or in conjunction with a third country.

1 – MTV 15-12-2000

2 – The Daily Star 16-12-2000

“Israeli” army fires three shells on southern Lebanon…(1)

“ The “Israeli” army Monday morning fired three shells on southern Lebanon from the Shibaa farms area, Lebanese police said.

The “Israeli” shells were fired from an observation post on the western side of Mount Hermon and exploded in an uninhabited mountainous region two kilometres (1.3 miles) from the Lebanese border.

“Israel” warned Lebanon and Syria of firm retaliation if Hizbullah led one more attack on its troops in the Shibaa farms, an area “Israel” claimed from Syria in 1967 and on which Beirut recently laid claim.

Since the May 24 withdrawal of “Israeli” troops from southern Lebanon after 22 years of occupation, Hizbullah has been leading military operations against the Shibaa farms.

On November 26, an “Israeli” soldier died in a bomb attack led by Hizbullah, and six weeks earlier, three more were captured in the Shibaa farms.

The “Israeli” air force flew over the area Monday, Lebanese police added.

“Israeli” fighter-bombers have frequently violated Lebanese air space since the May 24 pull-out.

Lebanon files complaint to UN over “Israeli” flights…(2)

“ Lebanon has again complained to the United Nations over continued “Israeli” air force violations of Lebanese airspace, the national news agency ANI said Monday.

"Lebanon has filed a complaint against “Israel” to the United Nations, after repeated “Israeli” flights over Lebanese skies and repeated violations by breaking the sound barrier," ANI said.

“Israeli” warplanes last broke the sound barrier over Beirut and cities in southern Lebanon and the eastern Beqaa Valley on Saturday.

“Israel” violated Lebanese airspace 123 times in the one month after the soldiers were snatched, according to UN figures.

1-     AFP, 18-12-2000.

2-     Same source.

"Deal" over Palestinian refugees concerns Lebanon: Iran…(1)

“Iran's ambassador to Lebanon Mohamed Ali Sobhani said a "specific deal" over Palestinian refugees is being finalized between “Israeli” and Palestinian negotiators. The Iranian envoy who held talks with President Emile Lahoud and Prime Minister Rafik Hariri said the deal affects the Palestinians and their "neighbors especially Lebanon". Sobhani reiterated Tehran's rejection of any resettlement of Palestinians outside their home towns and villages, from which they were expelled when “Israel” was created in 1948. Lebanon earlier warned “Israel” and the Palestinian Authority of the "harm" from any separate deal leading to the permanent settlement of Palestinian refugees abroad. "This is a basic Lebanese national issue on which we cannot make any compromise," said Information Minister Ghazi Aridi. "We refuse any implantation and we assert the right to return home for our Palestinian brothers. From there, we warn against any such agreements or separate deals, which have done harm before and that would undoubtedly do even more harm if (such deals) are brokered in the next phase," he said after a cabinet meeting. Lebanon hosts 367,000 Palestinians, who were expelled from their homes when “Israel” was created in 1948, and refuses to grant them citizenship. Aridi said "the unity of the Lebanese is necessary, more than ever before, to confront the continuous attempts to force ... (Lebanon) to accept what it has refused in the past and what it will continue to refuse, mainly through separate deals which have already weakened the Arab position and have brought nothing to those who made them." The cabinet session came immediately after the meeting, for the first time in seven years, of Lebanon's Higher Defense Council, the country's top political body. The meetings were mainly meant to send stern messages to the Palestinian Authority, currently engaged in peace talks in Washington with “Israel”, that it will stand against any compromises on Palestinian refugees' right of return. Aridi said the government "looked into" matters discussed by the Higher Defense Council, whose decisions were not disclosed. The council, created in 1984, grouped Lahoud, Prime Minister Rafik Hariri and the ministers of defense, interior, foreign affairs, finance and economy, as well as the army commander, the head of security agencies and the general prosecutor. In its morning session, it debated ways to foil “Israel’s” feared bid to trade sovereignty over occupied East Al-Quds's holy sites for the right of return of 3.7 million Palestinian refugees. “Israeli” Absorption Minister Yuli Tamir suggested Tuesday that “Israel” would be prepared to trade sovereignty over the al-Aqsa mosque compound in occupied east Al-Quds for concessions on the refugee issue. "What is vital for us is to obtain the most important thing, the renunciation by the Palestinians of the right of return of refugees to territory under “Israeli” sovereignty," Tamir said. The Palestinian Authority and a number of Palestinian opposition groups reiterated this week their continued rejection of any permanent settlement of Palestinian refugees in their respective asylum countries. On Monday, Lahoud announced an international campaign against the permanent settlement of Palestinian refugees in the country. The same day, Foreign Minister Mahmoud Hammoud summoned each of the ambassadors accredited in Lebanon to relay Beirut's position on the matter. The council also examined an incident Monday in which the “Israeli” military fired on Lebanese territory from Shibaa Farms, a mountainous Lebanese region still under “Israeli” occupation. The Shibaa Farms have remained a main point of contention since the “Israeli” troop pullout from southern Lebanon in May. 

‘30 countries’ back no-settlement policy…(2)

Foreign Minister Mahmoud Hammoud said Thursday that 30 Arab, Western, and African states have so far voiced support for Lebanon’s refusal to settle Palestinian refugees.
A statement from President Emile Lahoud’s office said Speaker Nabih Berri praised Lahoud’s recent rejection of any prospects of settlement and the necessity of guaranteeing the right of return for Palestinians.
Berri informed Lahoud of his position during talks Thursday with the president at Baabda Palace, during which both men agreed on the necessity of rejecting any solution for Palestinian refugees that may be reached at Lebanon’s expense. The issue also topped discussions between Lahoud and Iran’s ambassador, Mohammad Ali Sobhani.
“Certain signals show that a deal is being cooked up for Palestinian refugees,” Sobhani said. “This issue doesn’t only concern the Palestinians. It concerns several neighboring states, such as Lebanon.”
Foreign Ministry sources reiterated that the Palestinians’ right of return was absolute. The sources said Palestinians must be granted both the right to compensation and the right of return, unlike what is stipulated in the UN General Assembly’s Resolution 194, which entitles the refugees to only one of the two. “The Palestinians’ right to compensation must not be subjected to their right of return and must not cancel or abolish this right in any way,” one ministry source said.
The source said the recent diplomatic campaign launched by Lahoud stemmed from the president’s concern that solutions to the refugees issue may come at Lebanon’s expense.
“The status of a refugee is a temporary one which urges a just political solution by the international community,” the source said. “The right of return must be at the core of this solution.”
They said that no country or “group of states” must be forced to bear the responsibility. Only the country that caused this exodus must be made to bear this responsibility, along with the international community.
They said Lahoud launched his recent diplomatic campaign and convened the Higher Defense Council within 72 hours after receiving information that President Clinton would attempt to reach the framework for a solution to the refugees before the end of his term.
The campaign comes in the wake of information that one of the current American proposals to end the Palestinian-”Israeli” conflict calls for “Israel’s” relinquishing of parts of East Al-Quds to Palestinian sovereignty, provided that Palestinian refugees give up their right of return to their homes.

1-      Future TV, 21-12-2000.

2-      The Daily Star, 22-12-2000.

New warning about mines…(1)

The army’s Directorate of Orientation warned the public once again on Friday about the danger of mines planted by “Israeli” forces prior to their withdrawal from the South.
The new warning took the form of a series of instructions on how to avoid the dangerous devices. The warning was re-issued because many people are expected to use the holidays to visit their homes and family in liberated areas. Such areas are considered particularly risky.
Germany has agreed to donate nearly $60,000 worth of de-mining equipment for use in the South. An embassy press release said the move completes “a German contribution of $100,000 to the UN Mine Action Services.”

1- The Daily Star, 23-12-2000.

“Israeli” occupation buried toxic waste in Lebanese territory…(1)

“Israeli” occupation forces buried Thursday and Friday barrels containing toxic waste in the farm of Debbeen , in the Lebanese occupied Shibaa farms.

Security reports said “Israeli” bulldozers dug several big holes and emptied 20 loads of barrels containing toxic waste.

Earlier, “Israeli” army was also caught burying toxic substances in the occupied Syrian Golan Heights.

On the otherhand , the Lebanese expert team responsible for the drawing of the borderline with occupied Palestine , inspected the area where the “Israeli” forces violated the blue-line drawn by the U.N south of al-khiyam valley.

At that location, the “Israeli” occupation army installed an iron fence on Lebanese soil.

The Lebanese expert team prepared a report on the violation to be later discussed with the UNIFIL , United Nations Interim Forces deployed in south Lebanon.

"Israel" reopens Lebanese collaborators Radio…(2)

 A radio station under the name " the Mediterranean Sea Coast" is broadcasting from “Israel” on sound wave 756 and its transmission is intermittently received in south Lebanon , a Lebanese security source said.

The voices of the station's announcers are the same as those who used to be heard previously from the collaborator Entoine Lahd's station, the source asserted.

Lahd was the head of the so-called former Southern Lebanese Army, a militia which served “Israeli” forces during its occupation of southern Lebanon.

1-      Manar TV, 23-12-2000.

2-      Same source.

“Israeli” occupation wounds five Lebanese civilians at border…(4)

“Israeli” troops continued its aggressions against Lebanon Thursday by firing at Lebanese civilians across the border, wounding five including an eight-year-old boy.

The “Israeli” soldiers manning the al-Abbad hill opened fire while the victims were trying to prevent the soldiers from picturing them.

An “Israeli” army source, trying to justify the shooting, claimed that soldiers fired at the legs of two armed Lebanese civilians who pointed guns at them during stone-throwing clashes near a tomb on the border.

However, the source did not speak about the Lebanese child, who was directly targeted by an “Israeli” soldier as pictures taken by Al-Manar T.V. depicted.

At least 12 demonstrators have been killed, both Lebanese and other Arabs, and more than 40 have been injured by “Israeli” fire at the border over the past seven months.

Moreover, “Israeli” fighter-bombers broke the sound barrier for the third consecutive day over various Lebanese cities in the south and over Beirut.

The “Israeli” violation of Lebanese airspace coincide with the Eid al-Fitr which marks the end of Ramadan fasting month.

The continuous “Israeli” infringements prompted Lebanese President Emile Lahoud to ask the Foreign Ministry to complain to the United Nations about the airspace violations.

“Israel’s” Lebanese collaborators go back on the air…(5)

collaborators

“For more than 20 years “Israel’s” allies in Lebanon helped boost the Jewish state's occupation with regular broadcasts over the radio. Today the “Israelis” are gone, but the "Voice of the South" is back with its decidedly “Israeli” view of the region.

The new station began broadcasting for the Christian and Muslim holidays and is called "Mediterranean Basin Experimental Radio." But, broadcast like the Voice of the South on 756 kilohertz medium wave, few Lebanese believe the name-change is more than cosmetic.

"The presenters are all the same. We all recognized their voices instantly, with no doubt whatsover," said a resident in the zone “Israel” occupied for 22 years.

Voice of the South was run by the South Lebanon Army, “Israel’s” proxy militia during the “Israeli” occupation. The station headquarters, just into Lebanon from the “Israeli” border, was hastily dismantled on May 24, hours before the last “Israeli” troops left.

Mediterranean Basin Experimental Radio comes through with great reception in the former occupied zone, and the station can be heard from 50 kilometers (30 miles) away. The radio is most popular in Christian villages, the key centers of support for “Israel” during the occupation.

With tensions still high with “Israel”, the station's rebirth has predictably infuriated officials in Lebanon and in Syria, the major powerbroker in Beirut.

Qassem Hashem, a member of Lebanon's parliament who is part of Baath party, told AFP that Mediterranean Basin Experimental Radio was "a flagrant interference in Lebanese political life and reveals “Israel’s” intentions to continue its aggression against Lebanon."

And the station hardly shies away from the issues that enrage “Israel’s” foes. The radio's political program kicks off with Lebanese songs of nostalgia and then usually dwells on the need for Syria to withdraw its 35,000 troops from Lebanon.

Other favorite topics on the radio are the internal situation in Syria, particularly rifts within President Bashar al-Assad's family and the ruling clique, along with "the danger of Iran, whose sole goal is to export Islamic revolution to Lebanon".

But the biggest draw to the radio station is not politics, but family. Some 4,000 Lebanese fled to “Israel” following the May withdrawal, likely fearing retribution from Beirut authorities or Islamic militants, and many of the refugees left behind relatives.

Each day dozens of people, mostly women and children, send messages to their loves ones left behind in Lebanon. The broadcasters identify their first names and their home villages, but never their surnames.

"Hello, my name is Karin. I am from Rmeish and I am 11 years old. For the holidays I want to send my greetings to my friends and my instructor Siham and I hope to come back to school as soon as possible," begins one message.

"I give kisses to my grandmother, my grandfather and my aunt. We are in good health; don't worry about us," says Lara, from Qlaiaa.

Camille, apparently a former pro-”Israeli” militiaman, is slightly blunter: "I greet my loved ones in Ain Ebel. My wife and my children are doing fine and send you kisses for the holidays. We hope the situation will turn around soon and we will see each other soon in the homeland we miss."

The station broadcasts in the morning and the evening with a slogan: "We are with you to reduce distances and heal the wounds."

1-     Manar TV, 29-12-2000.

2-     AFP, 30-12-2000.