December Thursday 02 -1999:

Occupation's suppression returns to Aita al-Shaab more violently, residents…(1)
“Justice Sheikh Ali Srour affirmed that the “Israeli” occupation forces have resumed their terrorist suppressive measures against the residents of Aita al-Shaab, conducting more detentions during which those abducted were tortured at investigation centers and others were taken to the notorious al-Khiam detention center.

"Following the six-month blockade that was imposed on the town by the occupation forces, the issue was raised at several international forums.  This embarrassed the enemy that had to ease the measures for a while.  However, the occupation returned to blockading the town, detentions and terrorism," Justice Srour said.

“He noted that the occupation army is currently besieging the town and blocking the residents' movement amidst atmospheres of terrorism, suppression and threats to bulldoze houses and stage aggressions on women and properties.

“At a press conference they held at the Press Union HQ in Beirut, people from the town gave reporters a list of the town residents who have been detained by the “Israeli” occupation forces.  They are:
Ali Mohammed Khalil Srour,Hassan Moussa Rida, Mohammed Ahmed Jamil, Hussein Ali Harisi,
Ali Ahmed Jamil, Mohammed Abdel-Hassan Srour, Khalil Hassan Abdel-Hassan Srour, Mohammed Tawfiq Srour, 60, Yaaqoub Mohammed Srour, 60, Mohammed Ali Sayyed,Ali Sleiman Rahmeh, Ibrahim Hassan Nassar, Hassan Hussein Srour, Ahmed Hussein Ayyash Srour (teacher), Adnan Ali Srour and his wife Siham Halem, Ahmed Ali Srour, Mohammed Ali Srour,

“Youssef Amin Jamil Srour,Mohammed Rayeq Srour, Youssef Mohammed Srour, Hussein Abdel-Majid Srour, Mohammed Ahmed Harisi, Mohammed Ali Lotfi Srour, Hamza Hassan Mahmoud Srour, Ahmed Hassan Mahmoud Srour, Nehmeh Hassan Dakdouk, Fadel Mohammed Tehini, Ayman Mohammed Amin Srour, Reda Moussa al-Droubi
“The town's detainees that are held inside occupied Palestine

Abbass Hassan Srour, 14, Ahmed Hassan Srour, Abdel-Hassan Hassan Srour, Hussein Fahd Dakdouk, Youssef Yaaqoub Srour”.

Who owns the northern border?…(2)
“Last week the army, very late in the day, reached out toward a withdrawal from Lebanon. The chief of staff, the headlines said, agrees to a unilateral pullout.In two or three months' time, and certainly as the date for the withdrawal nears, it will be difficult to remember that the army, or more accurately the chief of staff, was the chief hindrance that caused the decision on a withdrawal to be inordinately delayed.

“It is difficult for the army to give up Lebanon, just as it would be difficult to give up any occupied territory. Few armies anywhere have had a comparable opportunity to conduct a war that was cut off from the media and from public criticism for so long. What other army has been given a large tract of land and unlimited budgets to try out all types of combat? From minor tactical warfare to cooperation between armor, infantry and air power to the trial of all of the Air Force's sophisticated weaponry, from the latest warplanes to precision-guided munitions.

“Over the course of 17 years, three generations of technology have succeeded one another, and in Lebanon the IDF* has tried them all. Lebanon also provided a free hand for every military man with an idea to try it out in the field. Evacuating villages; damaging the infrastructure; in-depth operations, broad-scale operations and target-specific operations; subcontracting for a local militia; village associations and more. Lebanon, far more than the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, is a deluxe laboratory without settlers, without holy places, without an international commitment to the occupied population - because “Israel” declared that there was no occupation - and with the entire package wrapped neatly in an agreed motive: protection of the northern settlements. There could be no greater luxury for an occupying army, which need only take care that its soldiers not get killed.

“The result is that the war in Lebanon became a habit that is hard to break. And because in “Israel” the army is the sole arbiter of what is necessary to determine security, anyone who demanded a withdrawal was perceived as a busybody who understood nothing about security, at best, and as a traitor in the worst case. The army thereby acquired the ownership of assets to which it had no title: It determined the consensus on the Lebanon question, it gave orders to the government and thus became not only a polic-implementing body but also an integral element of the policymaking apparatus, and it had the final say on the fate of the settlements in the north.

“In an ongoing display of political negligence, successive governments permitted a strategic asset to be whittled down into tactical fragments. Over the course of many years, “Israel” did not succeed in turning the war in Lebanon into a threat against Lebanon or Syria or in using it to generate momentum for a diplomatic dialogue. “Israel” squabbled with the Shi'ite villages, used missiles against the cars of Hizbullah leaders, destroyed a few transformers and turned the northern border and its settlements into a no-man's-land, available as a target for every random Katyusha rocket. The fact is that the army, too, now understands that the results of the balance between us and Hizbullah are at best a draw, meaning a loss, and there is no reason to think that a redeployment will be any worse than the current situation.

The IDF, which was unable to impose its will during the past 17 years and therefore did not provide the government with an effective strategic instrument, is now at long last permitting the government to make a policy decision and initiate a move of its own.

 “This is precisely the time for “Israel’s” next strategic move, one that will translate the war in Lebanon and the withdrawal from that country into political and diplomatic terms. The army will also benefit in no small measure: It will be able to restore its deterrent”.

Houses damaged in “Israeli” aggressions…(1)
“The “Israeli” occupation forces proceeded with staging aggressions against Lebanese areas.  The enemy this morning bombarded the outskirts of Habboush, Arab Salim, and the Zahrani River gorge with a number of 155mm rounds.
“On the other hand, the occupation's warplanes flew over southern areas and the capital Beirut.

In the afternoon, the occupation forces violated the April Understanding in a series of aggressions that targeted the towns of Majdal Zoun and al-Mansouri.

“The occupation's artillery positioned in the outposts of al-Hardoun and Shamaa bombarded the residential areas in the two towns damaging the houses of Hussein Matar and Ali Mohammed Salim Harb in al-Mansouri, while the houses of Mahmoud al-Hajj Abdo and Khalil Merhi were damaged in the town of Majdal Zoun besides a shop owned by Ali Jbeili.

“Moreover, an “Israeli” round fell near Majdal Zoun's mosque.  Crops were also ruined in both towns.

At 15:50, enemy warplanes raided the area between Majdelzoen and al-Mansouri firing 4 air-to-ground missiles”.

For its part, the Islamic Resistance (IR) released a statement in which it reported the following “Israeli” aggressions (2):
5:40, the surroundings of Mashaaroun outpost came under three 120mm shellS and a volley of 12.7mm heavy machine gun rounds.
Between 5:45 and 6:30, the surroundings of Baraasheit compound exposed to heavy machine gun fire.
Between 5:45 and 6:00, the outskirts of Aita Al-Jabal village exposed to 12.7mm heavy machine gun fire.
6:05, eight 81mm rounds slammed into the surroundings of Haddatha compound.
Between 6:05 and 6:15, the outskirts of Baraasheit came under more than seventeen 81mm rounds and a barrage of 12.7mm heavy machine gun bullets.
6:35, the surroundings of Sojod outpost exposed to heavy machine gun fire.
6:45, Jib Soweid area, east of Majdal Zoun village, was targeted by four 155mm missiles and a volley of 12.7mm heavy machine gun bullets.
15:10, several 120mm shells struck Majdal Zoun damaging the houses of Mahmoud Abdo and Khalil Merhi in addition to Ali El-Jabali’s store.
15:20, the residential areas of Mansouri village came under a number of 120mm shells causing damage to the houses of Hussein Matar, Ali Salim Harb and Mohammad Salim Harb in addition to Bashir Mdaihali’s orchard.
15:46, the “Israeli” warplanes dropped four air-to-ground rockets into the area between Majdal Zoun and Mansouri.

2- IR statement, 2-12-1999.

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Occupation may turn Arnoun into new crossing…(1)
“Residents of the occupied town of Arnoun said something is being prepared for the town.

Comings from the town said a joint “Israeli”-Lahdi engineering unit has been highly active near a house belonging to the Ghazal family using a large amount of ferroconcrete.

“The engineering unit has finished building a watchtower on the house's roof in addition to linking the new outpost with the old one to the west of the town.

“The occupation has erected barbed wires along the barricade barring the residents from approaching the site and seeing what is going on.

“The residents said they are concerned that the new measures aim to annex the newly-occupied town to the occupied zone and making it a new crossing point from Nabatieh to the occupied territories. This means the town's residents will be displaced permanently”.

1- IR statement, 3-12-1999.

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Occupation stages more aggressions on liberated areas…(1)
“The “Israeli” occupation's warplanes staged four raids that targeted, between 6:30 and 7:05 a.m. Sunday, the Hamra Farmstead and Ain al-Smahieh in the Nabatieh district with four air-to-ground missiles.

“Before and after the raids, the occupation's artillery in the Farmsteads of Tamra, al-Mansouri, and the Beaufort Castle targeted, besides Hamra and Ain al-Smahieh, the Hima Farmstead, Woods of Zawtar
al-Sharqieh, the Plain of Yohmor al-Shqief, and Wadi Abu Salim.

“Saturday night, the enemy violently pounded and raked with heavy and medium machine guns the outskirts of Habboush, Kfar Romman, Arab Salim, Houmeen al-Fawqa, the Zahrani River gorge, the vicinity of the Habboush-Arab Salim Highway.

“The aggressions also covered Mount al-Rafih Hilltops, the woods of Sojod, Rihan, Loweizeh, Oqmata Farmstead, and Nabeh al-Tasseh gorge (in Iqleem al-Toffah).

“Over one hundred mortar, field and tank rounds slammed the targeted areas.

The aggressions on the vicinity of the Arab Salim town damaged a water reservoir belonging to Hassan Fahs”.

For its part, the Islamic Resistance (IR) reported the following “Israeli” aggressions (2):
00:05, the deserted Lebanese Army barracks was bombarded by ten 60mm rounds, whereas Ali Taher woodland exposed to a volley of 12.7mm heavy machine gun bullets.
12:08, the “Israeli” war jets staged a sortie into Sojod village.

2- IR statement, 6-12-1999.

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LEBANESE CIVILIAN KILLED IN “ISRAELI” SHELLING…(1)
“Fifty-year old Ahmad Abdallah Dawood was found dead at dawn in a plantation field in the village of Mansouri, near the southern port city of Tyre, and close to the zone “Israel” occupies in the south. He was transported to the government hospital in the city. Two Syrian men, who were working for Dawood, suffered injuries and were taken to hospital for treatment. More than 25 “Israeli” shells fell overnight on Mansouri and the nearby village of Majdal Zoun. There had been no military activity in that region prior to the “Israeli” attack. “Israeli” gunners also attacked residential neighborhoods in the village of Majdal Zoun, destroying three houses. United Nations peace-keepers in the region said a family of six made a quote miraculous escape from death when they fled their house which was destroyed by “Israel” shelling.

The bombardment was in clear violation of the 1996 monitoring panel which observes a cease-fire aimed at protecting civilians. Hours after the attack, representatives of France, the United States, “Israel”, Lebanon and Syria met in the border town of Naqoura where they discussed six Lebanese complaints over previous “Israeli” shelling of civilian targets. “Israel” for its part has lodged nine complaints, over claims that Lebanese resistance fighters breached the cease-fire accord. Since the beginning of the year, 23 Lebanese civilians have died and 161 others have been injured in southern Lebanon. “Israel” has been occupying Lebanese territory in the south for the past 21 years. Prime Minister Ehud Barak has pledged to withdraw his forces from the south by July next year, as part of an agreement with Lebanon and Syria. He has remained vague on whether he would order a unilateral pullout from the south in the event frozen peace talks are not relunched”.

For its part, the Islamic Resistance (IR) released a statement in which it mentioned the following “Israeli” aggressions (2):
Between 6:15 and 13:10, the perimeters of Loweizeh village came under nine 155mm missiles.
6:20, Mount Sojod was shelled by three 155mm missiles.
Between 6:25 and 6:45, Majdal Zoun village was bombarded by twenty 81mm rounds and 12.7mm heavy machine gun fire causing damage to the houses of Rida Ali Salim Fayad and Hussein Mohammad Fayad, the car of Haidar Ahmad Salman and the tractor of Rida Ali Salman.
6:25, a volley of 12.7mm heavy machine gun bullets struck the perimeters of Mansouri.
6:35, two 155mm missiles hit Jib Soweid area, east of Majdal Zoun.
13:05, the “Israeli” fighter-bombers dropped two air-to-ground rockets.

Hizbullah: targeting civilians will not give enemy gains…(3)
“Commenting on the “Israeli” violation of the April Understanding in the Mansouri area that led to the martyrdom of a civilian and wounded others, Hizbullah's official in the south his Eminence Sheikh Nabil Qawooq said, "As political maneuvers and American tours continue, the enemy has intensified targeting civilians and southern villages in an indication of the political and military bankruptcy and in violation of the April Understanding's essence and content."

"Targeting civilians and the repeated violations of the April Understanding will not give the enemy any gains or changes in the situation or the rules of confrontation, nor will they screen the bitter defeat of the enemy," he said.

“The Resistance is committed to the utmost to protecting its people and the civilian targets as a national and human duty that can not be ignored or be subject to maneuvering no matter what the political conditions or changes are”, he added.

Hizbullah discusses situation in besieged Ainata…(4)
“Hizbullah Deputy Secretary General his Eminence Sheikh Nahim Qassem hosted a delegation from the occupied town of Ainata. The delegation explained the suffering of the residents due to the arbitrary measures of the “Israeli” occupation forces besides the siege, harassment and detentions which included some women.

“Sheikh Qassem underlined the need to unite all efforts to raise this humanitarian issue at all forums, especially the international bodies, in order to shed more light on the “Israeli” terrorism which is covered by the US.

“The deputy secretary-general promised to raise the issue with Lebanese officials to take action at all levels”.

Hizbullah warns collaborators against besieging Aita al-Shaab…(1)
“Hizbullah Secretary General his Eminence Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah warned the collaborators who are besieging the occupied town of Aita al-Shaab that they will be punished, stressing that the continuation of besieging the town, assaulting residents, and detaining young men will force the Islamic Resistance to deal with the issue harshly.

“Sayyed Nasrallah received at the party's Secretariat HQ a delegation from Aita al-Shaab. They explained to his Eminence the suffering that the town has been subjected to for five months.

“The Resistance men will punish The collaborators' chiefs who are sealing off the town, he said, calling on the occupation's militia to stop harming the residents; "otherwise, they will be punished and be examples to all those who plan to besiege occupied towns."

"The pain and suffering will not be in vain; they are part of the state of Jihad, steadfastness and resistance besides being part of the weapons we have to confront the occupation."

The Secretary General commended the unity and solidarity of Aita al-Shaab residents with all their different political affiliations, noting that the united stand of the residents has great impact on the morale of the occupation troops and their collaborators, "especially as the enemy is betting on our disintegration and divisions.

“There are good omens of victory and liberation of the occupied territories in the south and the western Beqaa, thanks to the Resistance, besides the steadfastness of the residents and the patience of the prisoners and detainees in the occupation's prisons.

“Sheikh Ali Srour and Sheikh Hussein Srour spoke on behalf of the delegation praising the Resistance, "the hope for liberation and return".

On the other hand, Sayyed Nasrallah hosted Italian Ambassador to Lebanon Gioseppi Cassini who briefed his Eminence on the grants' program proposed by the Italian government to develop the southern occupied areas.

“Talks also touched on the general situation and the recent developments in the region”.

1- Al-Manar TV, 8-12-1999.

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“Israeli” air and ground aggressions…(1)
“As the US announced that negotiations between Syria and "“Israel”" will be resumed, the “Israeli” occupation forces intensified their aggressions against Lebanese territories.

“Enemy aircraft Thursday staged 9 raids while its artillery pounded areas in all sectors adjacent to the occupied zone.

““Israeli” warplanes staged five raids between 8:15 and 9:10 a.m. targeting the outskirts of Qabrikha, al-Jmaijmeh, Mlikh and Oqmata.

“The occupation's air force at 17:40 staged two sorties on Mlikh firing four air-to-ground missiles.
“At 18:10, enemy gunship helicopters staged two raids on the outskirts of Loweizeh.

The enemy between 6:15 and 8:00 a.m. bombarded the outskirts of al-Jmaijmeh, Touleen, Qabrikha, and Wadi al-Qaissieh.

“Meanwhile, enemy pilotless surveillance drones circled over the targeted areas.

“In Nabatieh, the outskirts of Hamra Farmstead, Upper Nabatieh, Choukine, and the deserted army barracks in Nabatieh were sporadically shelled by 120mm and 155mm rounds”.

For its part, the (IR) issued a communiqué in which it reported the following “Israeli” aggressions (2):
7:40, eleven 155mm missiles slammed into the perimeters of Jmaijmeh village.
Between 7:55 and 13:05, the outskirts of Qabrikha village came under more seven 155mm missiles many of them were smoke ones.
8:10, the “Israeli” fighter-bombers dropped three air-to-ground rockets into the peripheries of Jmaijmeh.
8:40, the “Israeli” warplanes staged four sorties into the outskirts of Qabrikha.
Between 8:55 and 9:08, the “Israeli” war jets raided four times into the perimeters of Mlikh.
9:25, several 155mm missiles struck the peripheries of Jibaa town.
13:05, Slouqi Valley was shelled by a number of 155mm smoke missiles.
16:00, five 120mm shells were fired at the west of Baraasheit town.
16:15, Baraasheit town exposed to a volley of 12.7mm heavy machine gun bullets.
17:20, Qaissieh Valley was targeted by a number of 155mm missiles.
17:25, the “Israeli” warplanes raided twice into the perimeters of Mlikh village.
17:35, three 155mm missiles were unleashed at Mount Sojod.
17:45, the perimeters of Mlikh came under five 155mm missiles.

Occupation's aggressions continued…(1)
“The “Israeli” occupation's artillery Friday proceeded with launching aggressions on liberated villages and towns violating, once again, the April Understanding.

“The enemy bombarded the residential neighborhoods in Majdal Zoun, the woods of al-Mansouri, and the Jib Soweid area in the western sector, damaging the houses of Mohammed Salim Fayyad, Adnan Fayyad, Rida Salman, and others, besides damaging the electricity grid in the town.

“The shelling was accompanied by heavy machine-gun raking from the occupation's outposts overlooking the western sector targeting the outskirts of Majdal Zoun and al-Mansouri, along with the wadis and mountainous roads leading to the occupation's outpost.

Earlier, the occupation forces at 8:00 a.m. bombarded the Sojod-Rihan woods and the Oqmata Farmstead in Iqleem al-Toffah with 155mm and 120mm rounds from the outposts in al-Rihan and al-Zaffateh.

“Moreover, the enemy bombarded the outskirts of Aital El-Jabal, Haddatha, Tibneen, Jabal al-Zaatar, and Baraasheit, while enemy warplanes circled over the villages adjacent to the front lines in the middle and western sectors, staging mock air raids”.

For its part, the Islamic Resistance (IR) released a statement in which it reported the following “Israeli” aggressions (2):
5:35, the surroundings of Salaah position exposed to a volley of 12.7mm heavy machine gun bullets.
Between 6:45 and 7:00, the perimeters of Majdal Zoun village came under twelve 120mm shells, five 155mm missiles and four 81mm rounds damaging several houses.

Ambience of serenity that masks violent decades…(3)
“The track, gouged with ruts and flanked by gnarled dust-shrouded olive trees, meandered along the hillside for a distance of 1 kilometer from the edge of Rihan village to the back entrance of the Sojod outpost, one of the most heavily hit positions in the occupation zone. “This is the road to Vietnam,” chuckled Bassem, a local resident.

“The outpost, manned by militiamen of the South Lebanon Army*, looked disarmingly innocuous in the soft morning light, the dome of the small tomb of Nabi Sojod beside the compound imparting an ambiance of serenity rather than violence.

“Yet only hours earlier during the night, Hizbullah fighters had waged a fierce gunbattle nearby against “Israeli” troops and SLA militiamen. “Israeli” warplanes had fired missiles in six sorties into the brush-covered slopes of Jabal Safi above Rihan, while helicopter gunships prowled above the steep wadis, hunting down the resistance guerrillas as they slipped out of the zone.

“This place is the source of all troubles and violence,” said Ali, an off-duty SLA militiaman dressed in an olive-green “Israeli” uniform.

The announcement that the peace process is about to resume between Syria and “Israel” appears to have had as little impact on the Shiite residents of Rihan as it has on the battles waged in the remote ravines and hills of the northern sector.

“When asked his reaction to the renewed peace process, Ibrahim Shoukar, 72, shrugged his shoulders indifferently.

“Everyone’s waiting for peace. Like everyone else, I think that whatever comes is good,” he said as “Israeli” warplanes rumbled overhead in the deep blue sky.

Like most of the 100 remaining residents, Shoukar’s optimism and vitality have been battered out of him by years of bloodshed and misery.

“Evidence of the occupation is impossible to avoid in this bedraggled village. The “Israelis” occupy an outpost in the center of Rihan beside another position manned by SLA militiamen. A row of concrete T-walls was recently positioned along the entrance to the “Israeli” post to protect soldiers from Hizbullah’s anti-tank rockets. The rusting remains of a Syrian tank destroyed in the 1982 “Israeli” invasion lies to one side of a road pitted by exploding mortar shells.

Ali said he was not worried for his fate following the return of state control to the occupation zone.

“I don’t think the government will charge me for anything because I was forced to join the militia. Maybe militiamen who killed people will be tried for murder but the only thing I’ve killed is a bird,” he said. “I haven’t gone after Hizbullah to fight them but when they come for me, then I have to defend myself.”

“The Christian village of Aishieh, 3 kilometers south of Rihan, is in a better state of repair than its neighbor, doubtless helped by the absence of an “Israeli” outpost in the heart of the community.

Electricity pylons along the main street have been wrapped in Christmas lights. The village’s main church is finally being rebuilt after it was destroyed in the 1982 invasion.

But hopes for a lasting peace are tinged with the fears and uncertainties that an end to the occupation could bring.

“There is only 10 percent of the population here so we’re anxious for the occupation to end and for peace to prevail,” said Nassib Aoun, a former university professor and resident of the village.

“In Rihan, however, Ali expressed confidence that once a comprehensive peace had been achieved on all fronts there would be no further fighting in the south.

“Once the “Israelis” have left there won’t be a reason to fight,” he said. “The troubles began in the south in the 1970s with the arrival of the Palestinians. Now the troubles will end in the south with the departure of the “Israelis”.”

* It is an "Israeli" nomination we absolutely reject for it contradicts with Lebanon's independence and sovereignty. This army is not but an "Israeli" agent working for realizing "Israel's" goals in Lebanon.

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December Sunday 12 -1999:

Aita Shaab people protest 5 months of siege and 40 detainees…(1)
“Five months after the siege which the “Israeli” occupation forces and their collaborators have been imposing on the town of Aita al-Shaab and following the detention of 40 of the town's residents in the prisons of the occupation and its proxy militia, the town's non-resident people staged a sit-in in front of the ESCWA HQ in Beirut on the occasion of the International Day for Human Rights.

The participants in the sit-in included the Follow-up Committee for the Lebanese Detainees in “Israeli” prison (FCLD), the National Committee for Detainees (NCD), representatives of NGOs, MPs and clergymen.

“Aita al-Shaab residents who had fled the “Israeli” occupation's arbitrary measures brought with them their women, children, and elderly.

His Eminence Sheikh Ali Srour spoke on behalf of the protesters; speeches were also delivered by his Eminence Sheikh Hussein Srour, FCLD Secretary General Mohammed Safa, NCD Press official Jamal Mahroum, MP Marwan Fares and Faithfulness to the Resistance (FTR) bloc member MP Nazih
Mansour who stressed that all the Lebanese people backs the Aita al-Shaab residents.

“The protesters addressed a memorandum to UN Secretary General Kofi Anan stressing that the Lebanese hostages in al-Khiam detention center and other “Israeli” prisons along with the residents of the besieged villages and the members of the expelled families all appeal to the whole world on the International Day for Human Rights and voice their plight that is the result of the “Israeli” violations of human rights in “Israeli” detention camps.

“The memorandum urged the world to take action and shut down the notorious Khiam prison, free all the detainees in “Israeli” prisons, lift the siege imposed on Lebanese villages by the “Israeli” occupation forces and their collaborators and return the expelled to their homes”.

LEBANON TO SEEK COMPENSATION FROM “ISRAEL” FOR OCCUPATION…(1)
“Lebanon will demand compensation from “Israel” for its 21-year occupation of the south of the country in future peace talks, a foreign ministry official said Monday. The official gave no figures, but the daily An-Nahar said the claim totaled eight billion dollars, 3.3 billion for damage to infrastructure and 4.7 billion for reparations to civilian victims. A foreign ministry official told AFP that once a total and unconditional withdrawal by “Israel” had been agreed, "the talks will become negotiations on a permanent peace, to which Lebanon will only subscribe if it obtains compensation from “Israel”." Peace talks between “Israel” and Lebanon are expected to resume soon. Lebanon is also demanding the restoration of areas of land, including seven villages, which “Israel” has "nibbled" from Lebanese territory, especially around the source of the river Wazzani. "Lebanon will not accept any change of the border from that endorsed by the League of Nations in 1923," the official said. An-Nahar, quoting official figures, calculated that since the foundation of “Israel” in 1948 more than 4,000 “Israeli” attacks on Lebanon had killed 27,000 people and wounded 46,885, apart from the material damage. The paper said Lebanon had based its compensation claim of 100,000 dollars per death and 40,000 per injury on reparations paid to Jewish victims of the Nazi Holocaust and the sums paid by Iraq for its invasion of Kuwait”.

"Israeli" jets blast Iqleem al-Toffah…(1)
""Israeli" jets staged several air raids on Iqleem al-Toffah in the south on Tuesday, and a civilian was wounded in shelling, a security source reported.

"Two "Israeli" jets fired four missiles near Sojod in Iqleem al-Toffah and fired two more missiles 10 minutes later at a target in Oqmata, east of Sojod and 12 kilometers from Nabatieh.

" Elsewhere, a woman was reportedly wounded in "Israeli" machine-gun fire directed against Hay al-Maslakh in Nabatieh.

"Hanan Abdel-Wahhab Andris, 35, was taken to Nabatieh Hospital where she received treatment for bullet wounds to her leg.

"The incident occurred as "Israeli" forces and their agents manning the Dabsheh post were combing the area".

In its communiqué, the IR mentioned the following "Israeli" aggressions (2):
Between 00:30 and 13:30, Mount Sojod was bombarded by nine 120mm shells and six 155mm missiles.
5:55, a volley of medium machine gun bullets struck the surroundings of Sojod outpost.
6:00, the surroundings of Haddatha compound exposed to a barrage of 12.7mm heavy machine gun rounds.
At 14:34 and 14:42, the "Israeli" war jets staged two sorties into Mount Sojod.
19:00, the surroundings of Ali Taher, Borj and Beaufort Castle exposed to 12.7mm heavy machine gun fire.
21:15, the perimeters of Baraasheit came under a volley of 12.7mm heavy machine gun bullets.

FIGHTING ESCALATES IN SOUTHERN LEBANON; CIVILIANS INJURED AND HOMES DAMAGED…(1)
"Hours before peace talks resumed between Syria and "Israel" in Washington, "Israeli" occupation forces stepped up their attacks on southern Lebanon. "Israeli" warplanes raided villages just outside the occupied zone, as heavy clashes erupted by "Israeli" troops and Hizbullah resistance fighters. Two civilians were wounded. A 70-year-old woman, Turkieh Beydoun, was injured near Beit Yahoun inside the region "Israel" occupies. Another Lebanese civilian, Ahmad Harkous, was wounded by shrapnel from an "Israeli" shell as he drove a long a road just north of the occupied zone, in Zawtar as-Sharqieh. Last night, an Ethiopian maid was wounded in the southern town of Nabatieh, after "Israeli" gunners targeted residential neighborhoods in Nabatieh. She was taken to a government hospital in the town. The casualties raised to 150 the number of civilians wounded in southern Lebanon this year. Twenty-three have been killed during the same period. In a clear breach to the 1996 cease-fire understanding, occupation forces pounded the village of Maifadoun, which is located outside the central sector of the occupied zone. Iqleem al-Toffah also came under heavy "Israel" shelling. The attacks coincided with a meeting of the international panel which monitors the truce agreement. Delegates from the US, France, "Israel", Syria and Lebanon, have been discussing eleven alleged truce violations: four filed by Beirut, and the rest by "Israel"".

For its part, the IR issued a communiqué in which it mentioned the following "Israeli" aggressions (2):
00:30, the perimeters of Kfar Romman and the deserted Lebanese Army barracks at Nabatieh exposed to 12.7mm heavy machine gun fire.
8:55, ten rounds slammed into Jib Soweid area, east of Majdal Zoun village.
9:00, seven 81 and 120mm shells fell on the surroundings of Baraasheit compound and six 160mm missiles on Aita El-Jabal forest. Also, the peripheries of Tibnine and Aita El-Jabal and the surroundings of Beit Yahoun outpost were showered by heavy machine gun fire.
9:05, the "Israeli" warplanes raided into Mount Sojod. At the same time, the road of Zibqeen was bombarded by ten 155mm missiles while the west of Siddiqeen village was targeted five others. Meanwhile, the peripheries of Baraasheit came under more than two 120mm shells whereas the town itself exposed to a volley of 12.7mm heavy machine gun bullets.
9:10, the "Israeli" war jets stages a sortie into Mount Sojod. Also, the road of Henneih-Zibqeen was bombarded by ten shells, whereas the surroundings of Haddatha, Baraasheit and Beit Yahoun outposts were combed by intensive various kinds of heavy machine gun bullets.
Between 9:15 and 9:50, six 155mm missiles were fired at the perimeters of Siddiqeen.
9:15, Mount Sojod was bombarded by fifteen 120mm shells, while at the same time, the west of Haddatha was pounded by four others.
9:20, two rounds landed the outskirts of Majdal Selem town.
Between 9:25 and 10:45, Qaissieh Valley was shelled by seven 155mm missiles.
9:30, five 155mm missiles were unleashed at the outskirts of Choukine village.
9:50, eight 155mm missiles fell on the perimeters of Jibal El-Botom village and seven others on the peripheries of Siddiqeen. Also, a barrage of 12.7mm heavy machine gun bullets struck Haddatha town.
At 10:35 and 10:38, the "Israeli" warplanes raided into Tasseh Well watercourse.
10:35, several 155mm missiles were fired at the perimeters of Loweizeh village.
10:55, the "Israeli" war jets staged a sortie into Mlita heights.
11:05, the "Israeli" warplanes raided into Mount Kabir, west of Siddiqeen.
13:35, the surroundings of Qssair position exposed to 12.7mm heavy machine gun fire.
20:40, Mlita area was bombarded by ten 120mm shells.
Between 20:45 and 21:00, Mount Sojod was targeted by six 155mm missiles and one 81mm rounds, whereas the surroundings of Sojod outpost exposed to 12.7mm heavy machine gun fire.

December Friday 17 -1999:

"ISRAEL" SHELLS SOUTH LEBANON SCHOOL, INJURES AT LEAST TWENTY
"Some twenty children were seriously wounded today (yesterday) when "Israel" bombed a school in the village of Arab Salim, just north of the zone "Israel" occupies in southern Lebanon. An "Israeli" mortar bomb targeted the school's playground while some children, all of them less than ten years old, were on a short break. The playground and one a third grade class were full of blood and shattered windows. 

Books, carefully-wrapped sandwiches, and juice cans mixed with the blood of the young students on the scene, which witnesses described as hysterical. One witness said "it looked like a stampede". Lebanese police said the exact extent of the casualties was still unclear because the wounded had only been evacuated with great difficulty to hospital in the nearby town of Nabatieh as the road was also targeted by "Israeli" gunners following the attack on the school. About fifteen children made it to the Nabatieh hospital, all suffering from shrapnels, according to doctors from "Israeli" cluster shells, which are banned by international conventions. Following are the names of children who are now in area hospitals: Mona Farhat, Hassan Saade, Hannan Moussa, Ali Shrara, Marwa Hassan, Malak Shamseddine, Hussein Harb (critical condition), Ali Hammoud, Mohammed Nathar (critical condition), Ali Nathar, Hassan Farhat, Mahmoud Moussa, Mona Shrara, Rabab Fahs, and Shadi Hatab. Hospital officials said five of the children suffered broken limbs as they tried to escape the bloodbath…(1) 

"The children were wounded when three mortar rounds fired from the Soweida outpost, 1 kilometer south of the school, exploded in the air beside their first-floor classroom. 

The school sits on a small hill within clear view of Soweida.

Three adjacent classrooms were damaged in the attack. Gouts of dried blood and small pieces of flesh splattered the walls, desks, overturned chairs and the floor of the schoolroom where 16 children were injured.

There were 22 pupils in the schoolroom. Blood-soaked exercise books were still open to the page where they were translating a French text.

Shrapnel had gouged jagged holes in the aluminum window frames and pockmarked the walls. The staircase was streaked with blood where the injured students fled the shelling. Shards of shattered glass crunched underfoot as dazed teachers inspected the damage in the school.

Two were wounded in the neighboring geography class.

“Everyone was screaming and running out of the rooms in panic,” said Mohammed Farhat, who taught the geography class.

The children were herded to the ground floor. Casualties were taken to Nabatieh’s Najdeh Shaabia hospital.

“This is the second time the school has been subjected to direct shelling in three months. The school lacks the minimum safety element including shelters in order to put up with "Israeli" aggression,” said Afif Noureddine, the school director.

Mona Shrara, 9, who was hit in the neck by shrapnel, said her teacher had instructed the pupils to hide under their desks after the first shell exploded. “There was lots of screaming,” she said. “I felt pain in my neck, then saw blood and I started crying”

One student, Hussein Harb, 10, was seriously wounded, with a shattered shoulder and a punctured lung and had to be taken to a Beirut hospital.

His mother, Maryam Hammoud, said the attack was a disaster. “This isn’t the first time they hit the school but it’s the worst. They wanted to hurt our children,” she said.

Hassan Roumane, the physician attending to Harb, said the boy was lucky to be alive.

"Hizbullah Secretary-General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah said that the resistance would be justified in responding with a Katyusha attack on the settlements of northern Galilee but had chosen to de-escalate the situation.

“In our opinion it’s worth this kind of reply but we’re going to settle for a warning addressed to the Zionists,” he said.

"The bombardment was condemned by President Emile Lahoud, who called for an urgent session of the five-nation Monitoring Group.

Premier Salim Hoss described the attack as “horrific.”

This crime is the latest in a litany of outrages perpetrated by "Israel" against innocent civilians in Lebanon,” he told reporters…(2)

For its part, the IR issued a communiqué in which it mentioned the following "Israeli" aggressions (3)
2:40, four 155mm missiles hit Intara ravine to the west of Yater village.
10:00, Arab Salim Public school was bombarded by ten shells wounding twenty students.
13:50, Sawan area was shelled by three 155mm missiles.
14:45, seven 155mm missiles slammed into the perimeters of Jibal El-Botom village.
15:45, Jib Soweid area, east of Majdal Zoun village, was targeted by three 155mm missiles.

Lebanon drops call for ‘land-for-peace’…(4)
"Prime Minister Salim Hoss insisted on Thursday that Lebanon had dropped “land-for-peace” as a basis for its peace talks with "Israel", and would continue to demand "Israel's" unconditional withdrawal from the south.

“Lebanon is not concerned with UN Security Council Resolutions 242 and 338,” which call for "Israel's" withdrawal from Arab territories seized in 1967, the premier told Melhem Karam, the president of the Journalists’ Union, and other members of the union’s council .

“Resolution 242 is based on the principle of trading land for peace. We do not agree to this principle because we adhere to Resolution 425 that calls on "Israel" to withdraw completely from Lebanese territories, back to the internationally recognized borders,” he added.

Since the 1991 Madrid Conference, which brought together Lebanese, "Israeli", Syrian, Jordanian and Palestinian delegates, land-for-peace has been the basis for peace talks and has been officially accepted by Lebanon.

"Earlier this month, the government endorsed seven conditions for peace with "Israel", which included the enforcement of UN Resolutions 242, 338 and 425.

Hoss said that Lebanese negotiators, who are awaiting the results of current Syrian-"Israeli" talks, “will ask for compensation for the damage it suffered from "Israel's" aggression during the last 21 years. We will also insist on the return of Palestinian refugees to their homes.”

Hoss argued that “without a solution to the issues of refugees and Jerusalem, there will be no peace. There may be a settlement, but the two issues will remain as timebombs.”

He also said that the Shibaa farms, a disputed territory in the south which "Israel" annexed in 1967, “will be claimed by Lebanon during the talks, together with Lebanese water resources that are being tapped by "Israel".”

"The seven conditions for peace, originally issued by Parliament earlier this month, included similar demands, in addition to a request that the “seven villages,” given to Palestine under a 1923 Anglo-French agreement, also be returned to Lebanon.

"Hoss, however, did not commit himself to this demand, saying only “it would be another matter.”
Parliament also called for the release of Lebanese detainees from "Israeli" jails and insisted that the fate of pro-"Israeli" militiamen would be decided by Lebanese authorities.

Hoss said Syrian Foreign Minister Farouk al-Sharaa would visit Beirut on Sunday to brief Lebanese officials on the Washington talks. Sharaa and "Israeli" Prime Minister Ehud Barak began peace negotiations in Washington on Wednesday, the first such talks in four years.

Western diplomatic sources in Beirut told The Daily Star that the US and France “understand Lebanon’s fears over the possibility of settling the refugees permanently in host countries.”

However, the two countries “will try to convince Lebanon to allow refugees who arrived in 1948 to choose between staying and returning,” according to one source, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

“The refugees who arrived later, like those from the West Bank and Gaza after 1967, will be moved to other Arab countries or to countries that are open for immigrants, like Canada and Australia,” one source said.

Sayyed Nasrallah: aggression on Arab Salim deserves shelling colonies …(1)
Hizbullah Secretary General his Eminence Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah said, "What happened Thursday in Arabsaleem deserves bombardment of Zionist colonies in Northern Palestine by the Resistance."

Speaking at an Iftar held by "Imdad Imam Khomeini's Charity" in Kafaat (Southern Suburbs), Sayyed Nasrallah said, "The aggression that took place in Arabsaleem, and the harm inflicted on the town's schoolchildren is a blatant dangerous violation of the April Understanding."

Such incidents have been on the rise for the past few weeks. One civilian was killed in a grove weeks ago. This issue must be the concern of all the Lebanese. I, once again, call on the media to take interest and expose these issues, he said.

The Lebanese must know the details of what is going on in the south to be with the Resistance when it implements, on the ground, its decision to defend its people".

"What happened yesterday deserves bombardment of the Zionists' colonies in Northern Palestine. In our opinion it is worth this kind of reply and more, but we're going to settle for a clear and stern warning addressed to the enemy, for the Islamic Resistance can no longer take the Zionist challenge and violations," the secretary general said.

We reserve our right to retaliate as we say that our patience is running thin. If we launch a retaliation in the next days in the face of any violation or aggression against our people, we hope that everybody will understand that this is our right to defend our people, nothing more, his Eminence concluded.

Arabsaleem school will stay …(2)
The Arabsaleem school is 1000 meters away from the Israeli occupation's outpost in Swaida.

The school's 2-story building can take 400 students of the elementary and intermediate stages.

The school's principal said the Lebanese army which is positioned in the school's vicinity had cooperated with the school administration to build protective walls in the playground and classrooms opposite to the Israeli outpost.

Afif Noureddeen said, "We have no choice other than staying and continuing to teach, which is our only objective."

Our children are from poor classes. We are not used to escaping or displacement. What we seek today is to have a bomb shelter within the school campus, Noureddeen said.

Geography teacher Mohammed Abdel-Latif Farhat who recited how the massacre took place ruled out closing the school.

The only option we have is to fortify the building and the classrooms, he said, adding, "True this may withhold sunlight, but that will be better than surrendering and fear."

French language teacher Laila al-Shami asked about the responsibility of the international groups that claim to protect children.

We will teach children even if under a tree. "Israel" will be defeated and the Lebanese will win eventually, she said.

Education Minister: aggressions won't defeat Resistance spirit …(3)
Representing President Gen Emile Lahoud and Prime Minister Dr. Salim al-Hoss, Education Minister Mohammed Youssef Baydoun visited the children who were wounded in the Israeli aggression against the Arabsaleem school.

The minister said the wounded children enjoyed high morale.

One of them told me, "When I grow up I'll fight Israel", Baydoun said.

"With such a spirit, we can retaliate for the Israeli aggressions which if I described as low, I would be lenient."

"No matter what Israel does," the minister continued, "and no matter how far it goes with its aggressions, it will not be able to take out the resistance spirit from the souls of the Lebanese in general and the Southerners in particular."

"The Lebanese will keep on sacrificing their bloods until the soil is liberated."

He said this crime will not be the last, "but we are ready to take more and always be steadfast and resisting until we liberate our land and defeat the aggression."

Minister Baydoun concluded, "I see no difference between "Israel" and the collaborators' militia, for Israel uses this militia as a cover. Those who fired and hit (the school) are Zionist Israelis".

ELDERLY LEBANESE CIVILIAN DIES OF WOUNDS AFTER SHELLING …(4)
A Lebanese woman has died of injuries she received during Wednesday's clashes in southern Lebanon. Seventy-year-old Turkieh Baydoun, was in her village of Beit Yahoon, inside the central sector of the zone Israel occupies, when she was hit by shells from ongoing clashes between occupation forces and Lebanese resistance fighters. So far this year 22 civilians have been killed and 187 wounded in southern Lebanon.

SOUTH LEBANESE SCHOOL A LONG WAY FROM WASHINGTON …(5)
Ten-year-old Hanan Mussa learnt something at school Thursday that she will never forget for the rest of her life -- the real meaning of war in southern Lebanon. She is one of the 20 pupils of the school in the southern Lebanese village of Arab Salim, injured by shrapnel from Israeli shells that smashed into the two-story building. Peace talks may be underway between Syria and Israel, but Hanan said she doesn't know anything about them, whimpering as she held her hand to her injured eye. The school in Arab Salim, a village of 8,000 inhabitants, is a mere 600

meters (yards) away from the position of the Israeli-allied militia at Sueida on the edge of the Israeli-occupied zone of southern Lebanon. The headmaster, Afif Nureddin, recalled how his school, with its 500 pupils ranging from kindergarten to school leaving age, came under Israeli fire four months ago.

That time no-one was hurt. "Today, they wanted to shell the peace process," he said. Shrapnel from the two cluster shells which hit the school playground in the middle of the morning shattered the windows and walls of eight class rooms, including four belonging to the kindergarten, where the pupils, aged between four and 13, were working. The injured were taken to the nearby town of Nabatiyeh, where hospital sources said four were seriously hurt. Mohammad Farhat, one of the teachers, said panic broke out when a first shell exploded some distance away. "Just afterwards, a second shell hit the perimeter wall, and the children started rushing round in all directions, screaming," he said. "A few moments later, a tremendous explosion made the walls shake and filled the classrooms with black smoke. It was total chaos, and all we could hear was the children crying and howling." "There was a van standing in the playground, so I shoved five of the injured children into it and drove them to
Nabatiyeh," he said. There were splashes of blood on the floor and on the desks, and on the books and papers that lay scattered all over the place. "Shells were still raining down round the village, and it felt as if the school was going to collapse on top of us, so we just dragged out the injured," said teacher Mohammad Nureddin, explaining the long trails of blood down the corridors and stairs. "There is a faction in Israel which wants to assassinate (Israeli Prime Minister Ehud) Barak and maybe they are behind the shelling. They don't want peace, and they shell civilians to provoke a response against northern Israel in order to muddy the waters and get the talks suspended," he said. Habib Musa was standing at the door of his classroom when the blast from the first explosion blew him into the corridor. "Six pupils in that room were hurt, and three of them are in a serious condition," he said. At the An-Najda hospital in Nabatiyeh, Maryam Sharara held the hand of her four-year-old nephew Ali, who was given painkillers after shrapnel was removed from both his legs. "Why do they shell innocent schoolchildren?" she asked. Nur Hattab was in tears, as she hugged her son, Mohammad Nadar, 11, who had had an operation to remove shrapnel from his chest. A few beds further on, Marwa Hassan, 9, white bandages swathing her whole head, said the last thing she remembered was packing her things into her schoolbag after the first shell exploded. "I woke up in hospital," she said. The Israeli army apologized for the shelling, saying that it had been a "mistake.

AUMG condemns "Israeli" aggression on Arab Salim school…(1)
"The five-way group monitoring fighting in south Lebanon on Friday condemned the "Israeli" occupation forces' mortar attack that wounded 20 children in a school.

"The children, all less than 10 years old, were wounded on Thursday when "Israeli" mortars hit their school in the village of Arab Salim just north of the occupation zone.

"In view of the tragic consequences of this regrettable shelling, the Monitoring Group condemned the action as a violation of the (April) Understanding,'' the group said in a statement.

"The group was set up to monitor a U.S. sponsored understanding in 1996 to end a bloody "Israeli" blitz on Lebanon which killed more than 200 civilians, mostly women and children.

"The understanding banned attacks from and at civilian targets on both sides. It did not ban attacks against "Israeli" soldiers in the 15 km (nine miles) deep occupation zone.

"The Monitoring Group urged the "Israeli" occupation forces to "take more effective precautions on an urgent basis to ensure that under no circumstances will civilians be the target of attack, even if unintentional."

"The group which includes representatives from Lebanon, Syria, France, the United States and "Israel" convened upon a Lebanese urgent call to examine the "Israeli" massacre in the school.

In a bid to screen their hideous crime, the "Israelis" this morning filed a complaint claiming that the Resistance had fired mortars on the occupation forces from the town of Jarjoua.

"However, the heads of the Lebanese and Syrian delegations, Col. Maher Tfaili and Gen. Adnan Balloul refused the inclusion of the complaint in the urgent meeting".

Children protest "Israeli" bloody school attack…(2)
"Hundreds of Lebanese children paraded outside the U.N. headquarters in Beirut on Saturday to denounce a mortar bomb attack on a school by the "Israeli" occupation forces which wounded 20 schoolchildren.

"The children, aged between five and 10, carried gruesome pictures of the wounded and signs decrying the indifference of the international community.

"Stop the "Israeli" terror!'' one placard read. "The massacre at Arab Salim is the other side of peace with Israel.''

"Twenty children were wounded on Thursday in Arab Salim village in south Lebanon when a mortar bomb fired by the "Israeli" occupation forces hit their school.

"The school lies just outside the zone occupied by "Israel" in southern Lebanon and the attack followed the first peace talks in almost four years between Syria and "Israel".

"The rally, organised by Hizbullah and Amal Movement, was held outside the headquarters of the U.N.'s Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia in central Beirut".

CLASSES RESUME AT ARAB SALIM SCHOOL…(1)
"The school of Arab Salim opened Monday for regular classes after a three-day closure following "Israeli" artillery shelling that wounded 20 pupils last week. School director Mohammed Abdullah told reporters that most of the teachers and pupils, some of whom were wounded in last Thursday's shelling, were present. Two "Israeli" shells slammed into the school, wounding 20 pupils, four of them seriously. The children, aged between 5 and 13, were attending classes at the school just north of the central sector of the zone "Israel" occupies in southern Lebanon. Abdullah said security precautions were being intensified and there were plans to build a shelter in the school. Arab Salim school is situated in the Iqleem al Toffah region, which is frequently the target of "Israeli" shelling. Abdullah said damage caused by the "Israeli" shelling last week had already been repaired. "The appearance at school of those young children, especially the ones who were wounded, proves that Lebanese children are defying the "Israeli" aggressions and that they are determined to continue their studies even under the shelling," Abdullah said. The "Israeli" army claimed it bombed the school by mistake and apologized. "Israel" bombed the school with internationally-banned cluster shells".

Lebanon wants occupation to compensate for stolen antiques…(1)
"Speaker Nabih Berri underlined that Lebanon will demand that "Israel" compensate for all the losses inflicted on Lebanon, including the "Israeli" entity's exploitation of Lebanese water.

Lebanon will be invited to the negotiating table when the Syrian-"Israeli" talks reach a certain level, Berri said.

"Speaking as he met the parliament's media correspondents, the speaker added, "There will be something like a conspiracy against Lebanon, if it joins the negotiations before Syria obtains an "Israeli" pledge to return to the June 4, 1967 border line."

"Lebanon will be the one to decide to join the negotiations following the second round, Berri said quoting Syrian President Hafez al-Asad as saying that he does not accept an "Israeli" withdrawal from the Golan Heights without a pullout from south Lebanon.

"At the beginning of the meeting, the speaker raised the issue of "Israel's" theft of Lebanese antiques.
He recalled that he had talked about "Israel's" looting of Lebanese antiques in a speech he had delivered in the southern town of Tair Dibba.

Bury bombs instead of defusing them, occupation…(1)
"In order not to be the last soldier killed in Lebanon" a slogan repeated by the "Israeli" occupation troops and their proxy militiamen. But this slogan has turned from mere words to a real practice during combat.

"The recent development in this regard is burying the roadside bombs which had been planted by Resistance men to hunt the occupation troops.

One of the examples was what happened at the western entrance of the town of Hasbaya near the site where two bombs were discovered on Monday.

"The "Israeli" explosives' expert said he could not dismantle the bomb. He ordered that the bomb be buried instead of detonating it. A bulldozer performed the mission.

"Such acts will pose great danger on the residents in the future, for these bombs can go off due to oxidization and corrosion"

Hoss: ‘Beirut will demand 7 villages’…(2)
"Prime Minister Salim Hoss released a statement on Wednesday denying that the government intends to drop a demand for the return of the seven villages during future peace talks with "Israel". The premier’s statement reads as follows:

“The seven villages do not fall within the scope of Resolution 425, as they were not part of the area occupied by "Israel" in 1978. Although Lebanese, the seven villages were incorporated into Palestine during the French Mandate period, when Lebanon’s southern frontiers were drawn by the French and the British. The recovery of the seven villages, however, remains a Lebanese demand. It would be one of several other issues to be tackled in the prospective peace talks apart from Lebanon’s insistence on a full implementation of Resolution 425.”

"The premier declined a request by The Daily Star for further clarification.

"Hoss was responding to an article published in The Daily Star on Wednesday in which he said that it was “unlikely” that Beirut would pursue the demand in the negotiations with "Israel" because the villages were never part of the Lebanese state".

LEBANESE VICTIMS OF "ISRAELI" ATTACKS OVER 300 THIS YEAR: PAPER…(1)
"The daily Al Mustaqbal newspaper today (yesterday) reported that more than 300 people, including civilians and resistance fighters, have been killed or wounded by "Israeli" attacks against Lebanon this year. The newspaper quoted Lebanese security sources in southern Lebanon as saying one Lebanese army soldier and a peacekeeper serving with the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) were killed in "Israeli" shelling, while five Lebanese troops and eight members of the international peace-keeping force were wounded. The sources said 31 Lebanese civilians were killed and around 200 wounded in "Israeli" attacks during the same period. The sources were quoted as saying, Hizbullah resistance fighters carried out 1,600 attacks against "Israeli" occupation troops and their allied militia in the south. Hizbullah resistance attacks killed 13 "Israeli" soldiers and 20 "Israeli" allied militiamen. In 1999, 51 "Israeli" troops and 82 "Israeli"-backed militiamen were injured", the sources said.

"ISRAEL" ANNEXES LEBANESE VILLAGES, SAY UN SOURCES…(2)
""Israeli" soldiers have fenced in and annexed the outskirts of four Lebanese villages on the border with "Israel" over the past few years, UN sources were quoted by DPA as saying Thursday. Over the past few years, "Israeli" occupation forces have fenced in and annexed several deserted and mined areas in the villages of Odaisseh, Maroun Al Ras, southeast of Marjeyoun, and Alma Al Shaab, the sources said. The "Israelis" claim the fences were erected for practical reasons and to apprehend infiltrators, the UN sources said. They added that the original fence demarcating the common border line is still in place and is monitored around the clock by the United Nation's 55-member Armistice Observer Group, who were deployed in 1948 to monitor the Lebanese-"Israeli" armistice pact. This latest account of "Israeli" annexation of Lebanese border villages would buttress the claim to seven other Lebanese border villages, a government source said. Lebanese Prime Minister Salim Hoss was quoted earlier Thursday as saying that the return of the seven villages which were annexed to Palestine in 1923 during the drawing of the border agreement of the French and the British will be "a Lebanese demand that will be on the agenda of the future peace talks with "Israel"". Hoss's statement followed reports quoting him as saying Beirut would probably drop demands for the return of the seven villages. Lebanon is scheduled to join in the peace talks with "Israel" after the second round of negotiations between the "Israelis" and the Syrians which are due to take place on January 3rd in West Virginia. Peace talks between "Israel" and Lebanon were broken in February 1994".

Soiled hands, spoiled lands…(3)
For years, "Israelis" took soil from South Lebanon and used it for agriculture, for the gardens of public buildings and homes, and for military use. This cannot be ignored in the upcoming negotiations between "Israel" and Lebanon

"A short walk or drive on the other side of the Good Fence on the "Israel"-Lebanon border at Metulla leads to a rusted fence, hung with rusted license plates and signs that say "Border ahead," as well as gates whose signs bear names such as Oldtimers' Gate, Tank Gate, Gate 5. Metulla residents explain that this is the old fence, as distinguished from the new fence. Both visitors and residents find it hard to comprehend the differences between the new and old fence, or their significance. One way or another, the fences are wide open, to the great convenience of drug smugglers. Close to the fences is an industrial building with a big sign - "Industrial Structures Ltd., the biggest real estate company in "Israel"" - and young plantations of deciduous trees, with Thai workers working nearby.

Opposite is Kilah, a Lebanese village close to the unclear border between Lebanon and "Israel". A illager
reveals that the houses closest to the fence are empty, their inhabitants evacuated by the "Israel" Defense Forces* "for security reasons." For these same reasons, the IDF prohibited the completion of high-rise buildings, whose skeletons stand silent as they have for years. Some of Kilah's residents were forced out of their village a few years ago. Heaps of garbage and rubbish stand next to the mosque.

The naked eye can make out, between the fence and the homes of the village, pale areas -
the color of the ground cover - interspersed with wide strips of dark brown.

"The dark strips are the craters and trenches created by steam shovels and bulldozers from "Israel" that took a bite out of the red sandy earth, very fertile agricultural soil, loaded it onto trucks and brought it to "Israel"," the villager from Kilah related. "For years "Israelis" took agricultural soil from Kilah and other places in South Lebanon and brought it in big trucks to "Israel"."

Close to a few of the craters are boulders, which may once have marked the border, encircled with a stripe of brownish red, indicating the level of the ground before the steam-shovels and bulldozers took their bites.

"In 1996 I loaded soil from Lebanon, transported it to "Israel" and dumped it in various places in "Israel", including Metulla," a Golan Heights truck driver confesses. "The soil I moved was used for farming, for the yards of public institutions and private homes. The army also used Lebanese earth for 'tracker trails' - swept dirt paths it maintains on the borders in order to detect infiltrators' footprints." While he spoke, he pointed out the gardens of private homes in the town where he had dumped red sandy soil from Lebanon.
One of the companies mentioned as having trucked soil from Lebanon to "Israel" is that of Moshe Maman, of Rosh Pina. Asked this week whether earth was still being brought from Lebanon, Maman said, "the IDF has forbidden us from entering, for security reasons."

To the question of whether people had to pay for permits to take the soil, he answered, "We didn't need anything." Asked whether it was possible to just go in and take the earth, he responded, "What can I tell you, it was something like that." When did it stop? "At some point there was a newspaper article, and since then it stopped. It stopped this year," he said, and quickly ended the conversation in order to continue his work.

Maman's statements seem to corroborate Lebanese claims. According to some Lebanese, the phenomenon has slowed in the last year, but the IDF has been unable to stop it completely.

The Lebanese Parliament discussed the issue in October, 1998. In a letter to the UN Security Council, Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri complained that "Israel" was taking hundreds of tons of fertile agricultural soil from the Marjeyoun area and other places in South Lebanon. At the time, the coordinator of activities in Lebanon, Uri Lubrani, rejected the Lebanese government claims as "nonsense."

However, some days later, after reexamining Lebanese claims, defense establishment sources admitted that ""Israeli" citizens stole soil from within Lebanese territory without obtaining permits from the army." A South Lebanon Army** officer confirmed the theft of earth from an area within Lebanon, near the border fence. According to a UN spokesman, ""Israeli" trucks regularly transport topsoil from the Adassiya area to "Israel". It is inconceivable that "Israeli" soldiers don't know about it. We are talking about an area in which the "Israeli" presence is not negligible" (Ha'aretz, November 8, 1998).

The chairman of the Metulla local council, Ya'akov Katz, when asked to explain the official process that enabled the transfer of earth from South Lebanon to "Israel", including Metulla, responded, "I am not addressing this issue. Go to the authorities that deal with South Lebanon. I know nothing about it."
Both the IDF and Defense Ministry spokesmen responded laconically when faced with a detailed list of questions and asked to respond to the claims made by "Israelis" that they were involved in transporting soil from Lebanon with the knowledge or permission of the IDF and the defense establishment, as well as claims by Kilah residents regarding the relocation of the border fence westward. "We are not addressing your questions, and all border issues will be discussed in the future between us and the Lebanese," said the Defense Ministry spokesman, while the IDF Spokesman said "all issues connected with the "Israel"-Lebanon border will be discussed in the future."

Yossi Goldberg, a native son of Metulla who headed the local council for 20 years (1978-98) and served in the Knesset from 1988-92, was considerably more forthcoming than his successor and the Defense Ministry and IDF spokesmen.

Goldberg declared decisively that "the IDF never prevented the transfer of earth from the Ayoun valley because it was private land owned by Metulla residents for a century, who have the kushans [a Turkish term for property registration certificates] to prove it." To reinforce the historical connection, Goldberg added that Ayoun is mentioned in the Bible (Kings I and II and Chronicles). The Arabs call the valley Marjeyoun.

According to Goldberg, there used to be no border fence separating "Israel" and Lebanon north of Metulla. The cease-fire agreement signed with Lebanon in March 1949 stipulated that the cease-fire line would run along the international border between Lebanon and Palestine-Mandatory Eretz Yisrael demarcated in 1923 by France and Britain. (Lebanon was under the French mandate, while Palestine-Eretz Yisrael was under the British Mandate.) Goldberg says the border was not defined precisely, and from 1949 until the early 1970s there was no fence.

Then, in the wake of infiltration incidents from what used to be called Fatahland, "Israel" built a fence - the "old fence" - where it was convenient security-wise, but not necessarily along the exact lines of the border. After a truck explosion in March 1985 in which 12 IDF soldiers were killed, "Israel" moved the border fence westward and northward - the "new fence."

"The future location of the border will be determined in the expected negotiations between "Israel" and Lebanon," Goldberg pointed out. "There is no argument that soil was taken from the Ayoun valley, both by Lebanese from areas away from the border and by Metulla residents and others," he emphasized, "but that does not determine the border. I repeat, the earth that Metulla residents took is earth owned by them throughout 100 years of [Jewish] settlement. With the beginning of negotiations between "Israel" and Lebanon, the inhabitants of Metulla will demand their private lands in the Ayoun valley, some 4,000 dunam (1,000 acres) north of the fence. This is land given by the "Israeli" government in 1949 to the Lebanese after signing the cease-fire agreement. The land given in the 1980s as a temporary substitute for agricultural purposes to the farmers of Metulla in the Galilee and the Hula valley cannot replace our lands in the Ayoun valley, and we will not give them up. The border between the two countries must be clearly marked out again".

LEBANESE FISHERMEN INTERROGATED BY "ISRAELI" NAVY…(1)
"Two Lebanese fishermen were abducted by "Israeli" sailors and questioned for twelve hours. Lebanese police said Samih and Abbas Darmiss had just cast their nets two kilometers (one mile) off the coast of the southern city of Tyre when an "Israeli" patrol boat opened fire on their craft. They were ordered aboard the patrol boat and interrogated about Lebanese resistance activities in occupied southern Lebanon. After 12 hours, the fishermen were released and returned to Tyre. The "Israeli" navy periodically detains and questions Lebanese fishermen".

PM: Lebanon rejects any "Israeli" attempts to adjust borders…(1)
"Prime Minister Dr. Salim al-Hoss described the "Israeli" step of demarcation the international borders with Lebanon and fencing deserted Lebanese villages as "a serious measure".

The premier commented on what the "Israeli" daily Ma'ariv has published in this regard by saying that "the information is being followed up by the Lebanese diplomacy to figure out the real "Israeli" official stand" reiterating Lebanon's clinging to the internationally-recognized borders.

Any "Israeli" attempt to have border adjustments is categorically rejected, al-Hoss said, adding, "Lebanon will not accept anything less than the content of UN Security Council's resolution 425."

The prime minister announced that Lebanon will not name the officials to take part in negotiations with the "Israeli" entity before the date for the talks is set after the second round of the Syrian-"Israeli" negotiations.

"Lebanon will not take the first step as it does not want to create any illusions or interpretations and to abort any maneuvers by "Israel", al-Hoss added.

"Israeli" bombs target civilians, kill goats…(1)
"A set of connected explosive devices planted by the "Israeli" enemy to the east of the town of Majdal Selem went off near a goat herd belonging to Ahmed Naef al-Dorr.

Fifty goats were killed by the explosions that spared al-Dorr who suffered a great loss due to the aggression.

"The explosions' site is overlooked by the "Israeli" occupation's outposts in Tair Harfa and al-Hardoun. The site is also 300 meters away from UNIFIL's Nepalese battalion's base.

"The artillery of the "Israeli" occupation forces this morning bombarded the southern neighborhood in the town of Arab Salim and the Zahrani River gorge.

Several 155mm rounds landed in the targeted areas. No casualties were reported.

"The "Israeli" occupation's warplanes in the morning flew over the city of Baalback (Beqaa) breaking the sound barrier.

"In the afternoon, the "Israeli" aggressions intensified as the occupation's warplanes raided the outskirts of Jibaa firing two air-to-ground missiles while the enemy's artillery bombarded the woods of Sojod and Oqmata with a number of 155 mm rounds.

"At night, the shelling extended and reached the outskirts of Yater, Zibqeen, al-Chaitieh, and Wadi al-Qaissieh". No casualties were reported.

In its communiqué, the IR mentioned the following "Israeli" aggressions (2):
Between 5:05 and 5:40, thirteen 81mm rounds slammed into the surroundings of Haddatha compound.
5:40, Haddatha forest was targeted by four 120mm shells.
5:45, the surroundings of Baraasheit compound came under twelve 52mm rounds.
Between 5:45 and 6:00, the surroundings of Beit Yahoun outpost exposed to a volley of 12.7mm heavy machine gun bullets and one 120mm shell.
Between 13:10 and 15:30, Qaissieh Valley was bombarded by sixteen 155mm missiles and four 105mm rounds.
13:20, an explosive device planted by the "Israeli" occupying troops east of Majdal Zoun village was detonated perishing seventy sheep owned by the citizen Ahmad Nayef El-Dorr who was narrowly escaped death.
14:25, the surroundings of Salaah and Qssair exposed to a barrage of 12.7mm heavy machine gun rounds.
14:40, Mount Sojod was shelled by four 155mm missiles.
14:45, the perimeters of Jibaa town came under eighteen 155mm missiles.
14:55, the "Israeli" warplanes raided into the peripheries of Jibaa.
Between 16:10 and 16:20, the perimeters of Jibal El-Botom village came under fifty one 155mm missiles.