Hizbullah launched anti-aircraft missiles Friday noon close to the Israel-Lebanon border. There were no injuries reported in the incident. Later, the guerrillas fired rockets and anti-tank missiles at Israeli outposts in the disputed Shebaa Farms area near the border between Lebanon, Israel and the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.
Israeli troops responded with artillery fire on the nearby Lebanese border town of Kfar Shouba.
Earlier, the Lebanese army arrested six members of Ahmed Jibril's Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General Command in Bekaa. The six were charged with possession of surface-to-surface missiles.
Lahoud
Lebanon’s President Emile Lahoud signaled Thursday that Lebanon has no interest in igniting a second front with Israel, saying that any attempt to undermine national stability, “regardless of the goal,” is “unacceptable.”
His reassurances came as Israel delivered a stern ultimatum to Lebanon that any further attacks by Hizbullah would meet with a “very hard” response. “We are ready to act and have completed our preparations,” Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon warned.
But in the evening, several Katyusha rockets were fired from the Western Bekaa into the northern end of the Israeli-occupied Shebaa Farms. Hizbullah said it had “no information” regarding the attack.
According to the Daily Star, in a telephone conversation with UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, Lahoud called on the world body to use its resources to halt “Israeli aggression” as “force achieves nothing.” Annan telephoned Lahoud and Syrian President Bashar Assad following Israeli warnings that the spate of attacks along Lebanon’s southern border since Saturday could have “alarming consequences.”
In a meeting with Lahoud, US Ambassador Vincent Battle said the US was “concerned” at the “Palestinian and Hizbullah activities in the Shebaa Farms.” “We have urged the Lebanese government to do all it can to halt the breaches and attacks across the Blue Line to avoid any escalation of any kind,” he said, referring to the UN-delineated line marking Israel’s troop withdrawal.
Foreign Minister Mahmoud Hammoud also met with Battle, as well as with British Ambassador Richard Kinchen, who called for “maximum restraint.” Hammoud said that “Lebanon has no intention of opening a new front on its border.”
Thursday’s Katyusha salvo occurred early in the evening and targeted the Israeli listening post at the northern tip of the Shebaa Farms. The rockets were apparently fired from Marj Zahour, 12 kilometers away.
There was no customary Israeli artillery reprisal to the attack, which security sources regarded as an ominous sign. “If they didn’t fire back, it could mean they are planning something bigger, especially after all the warnings they’ve given,” a Western military observer commented.
Earlier, UNIFIL’s commander, Major General Lalit Mohan Tewari, said that he was “guardedly optimistic” that the situation would calm down. Tewari, who has met in the past two days with Lahoud, Premier Rafik Hariri and Army Commander General Michel Suleiman, said UNIFIL patrols had increased in light of the escalation.
He added that the stepped-up patrols may have saved the lives of four officers of the UN Truce Supervision Organization who were badly beaten by Hizbullah fighters on Thursday in Upper Halta at the foot of the Shebaa Farms. (Albawaba.com)
© 2002 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
