Israelis increase call for pull-out from Lebanon
Regional-Israel, Politics, 10/10/1997

Amid public outcry in Israel on whether the military occupation of South Lebanon should continue, two more Israeli soldiers were buried Thursday. The two were killed Wednesday in southern Lebanon bringing the toll of Israeli casualties in occupied South Lebanon since the start of this year up to 27 officers and soldiers.

On Israeli state-run radio's talk shows, people would still phone in with comments on Lebanon and many of them called on Israel to rapidly find a way to pull out of the occupied Lebanese territories. "The price our army is paying, with our children serving in Lebanon is unjustifiable and we do not accept being used as a pretext for the continued occupation of South Lebanon," said a mother whose son is serving in Lebanon. The woman, a resident of Israel's northern settlements next to the borders with Lebanon. She was commenting on official statements that said Israel would not pull out of Lebanon until an arrangement has been reached to prevent attacks by Lebanese resistance movements on the northern parts of Israel.

The two soldiers were killed and six of their colleagues were wounded by mortar fire and roadside bombs in Israel's self-declared security zone in south Lebanon. A convoy of armored cars left from the border on its way to the western sector of south Lebanon. Minutes after crossing the border, less than 100 meters from the border fence and adjacent to a post manned by soldiers of the Israeli-backed South Lebanon Army, a number of roadside bombs went off.

Israeli military sources voiced deep concern at what they saw as a serious breakdown in the Israeli defense system that has allowed Hizbullah commandos to penetrate through Israeli lines close to the border. Questions were also raised as to whether the Hizbullah commandos had also intended to infiltrate into Israel or had decided to restrict their operation to Lebanese territories.

³Getting Israel out of southern Lebanon is an interim goal of Hizbullah, but it is clear to me that leaving Lebanon without an agreement will bring about an even more difficult period in the northern front,² says Major General Moshe Yaalon, head of Israeli military intelligence, in an interview with a leading Hebrew daily published today "The public discussion over withdrawing from Lebanon is a legitimate discussion, but it should be clear that it bears a price. Hizbullah definitely sees it as a blessing and draws encouragement from it. I hear all sorts of sayings, as if Hizbullah were a Shiite organization which wants to get us out of Lebanon and stop the occupation, and that after we withdraw will have no claims against us. From an intelligence point of view, this is simply not true,² Yaalon told Maariv.

"In the case of a unilateral withdrawal, I have no doubt that Hizbullah will strike off the interim goal of getting Israel out of Lebanon and then its men will continue on to the next goal, which is Palestine. Hizbullah talks not only of getting us out of Lebanon, but also out of Jerusalem. They will no longer be called the Lebanese Hizbullah, but Al-Quds [Jerusalem] Hizbullah," he said.

Previous Stories:
  Lebanese ambassadors meet in Paris   (10/4/1997)
  Berri in Armenia - says Israel must leave before Syria   (9/13/1997)
  Netanyahu willing to enter south Lebanon negotiations   (9/5/1997)

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