Masalha: Israel has given up the April Understanding
Regional-Israel, Politics, 2/10/2000

Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister Nawaf Masalha on Tuesday asserted in a statement to Monte Carlo radio that Israel had backtracked from abiding by the April Understanding on the two sides of the Israeli-Lebanese borders, despite the fact that the coordinator of the Israeli occupation activities in south Lebanon, Uri Lubrani, has denied such a backtracking.

Masalha has expressed his fear of escalating the conditions between Israel and Lebanon because this escalation will result in destroying part of the villages of north Israel and part of the Lebanese civil services, noting US and French attempts to contain the situation.

Masalha indicated that the solution for this crisis is political, saying that Israel is seeking to have peace and its prime minister, Ehud Barak, announced that he will withdraw from south Lebanon by next July with or without the Hizbullah operations.

Masalha questioned whether the Lebanese resistance will enable Barak to do so because he does not want to withdraw amid a state of defeat for the Israeli Army.

Masalha ruled out Israel attacking Syria, adding that Israel will not strike any of the Syrian Army units, according to his own information, and that Barak had stood still in the recent weeks before pressure was made by the Israeli military.

Meanwhile, the Monte Carlo correspondent in Tel Aviv said that the Israeli mini-Cabinet for political and military affairs approved in its Monday's night mini-summit three stages to implementing the Israeli attack against Lebanon. The first phase was already implemented while the second phase implies bombardment of strategic and pivotal targets near positions of the Syrian Army in the Lebanese Bekaa as well as bombarding the economic utilities and bridges in the surroundings of Beirut.

Previous Stories:
  Al-Hoss: Lebanon adheres to April Understanding   (2/9/2000)
  Barak and the military operation against Lebanon   (2/9/2000)
  Ramon: negotiations with Syria will not be resumed   (2/9/2000)

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