Lebanon: Nasrallah's statements stir debate in Israel
Lebanon-Israel, Politics, 3/10/1998

Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu briefed his ministers on the outcome of his trip to Europe and his talks with European officials on his proposal to implement UN Security Council Resolution 425 of 1987 which called for Israel's withdrawal from south Lebanon.

Netanyahu, Israeli sources said, explained to his ministers the circumstances under which Israel would be ready to pull out. He noted that the implementation of the UN resolution is based on talks with the Lebanese government, which has to commit itself to security arrangements that would prevent hostile groups from infiltrating into Israel or bombing its northern towns from within the Lebanese territory.

Debate has increased in Israel since the proposal was first made by Netanyahu on the conditional acceptance of Resolution 425. It even escalated with the statements Hizbullah leader Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah gave to Le Figaro two days ago. Sheikh Nasrallah told Le Figaro the that should Israel withdraw from southern Lebanon, his organization would assent to the deployment of Lebanese army troops in the region, and would not interfere with it. ³When the day comes, the Lebanese army will be responsible for security, and we won¹t interfere,² stated Nasrallah in the interview.

"I can¹t understand why everyone is getting excited about statements made by Sheikh Nasrallah,² said commander of the Israeli-backed SLA (South Lebanon Army) militias General Antoine Lahd. Lahd told an Israeli daily Tuesday that he "definitely wouldn¹t affix any hopes to his statements, despite the fact that there is some seeming change to them.² Lahd is strongly opposed to any settlement that would lead to Israel's full withdrawal from occupied south Lebanon out of his own concern and the concern of his top aides that they might be put on trial for treason in Beirut.

Israeli officials have hinted on a number of occasions in the past that any settlement in Lebanon should guarantee the safety of those who were members of the SLA. But recent statements by Netanyahu and even by senior army officers in the northern command about a possible acceptance by Israel of UN Security Council Resolution 425 of 1987 raised concern among top SLA officers and commanders.

Lahd said he has no reason to trust Sheikh Nasrallah saying he is an "unreliable" person. "Hizbullah must be regarded as an organization whose sole goals are to harm and to kill,² Lahd told Israel's largest circulation daily Yediot Ahronot. He said that peace can be attained in Lebanon but wondered what price should it take. "The price peace will entail has yet to be made clear. I know that there are several channels on which attempts are being made to come up with a solution to the Lebanese issue; but residents in the Galilee will have to see Israeli soldiers in Lebanon for some time to come, if they want the area around themselves to remain quiet. At this point, I can¹t see any solution.²

Lahd failed to conceal his worries, though he said he is not scared of the present situation. He said he believed Israel would not abandon him or his militias, but "it is clear that we are all concerned, and anticipate some change to come.²

An Israeli withdrawal from south Lebanon, argued an Israeli expert on political violence, might cause problems for Hizbullah. Professor Ariel Merari, head of the Department for Research of Political Violence at Tel Aviv University, said that should Israel leave south Lebanon, Hizbullah would lose its reason to exist in Lebanon. "Hizbullah," said Merari, " will have to leave Lebanon after it has become the strongest organization in south Lebanon which provided social, health and education services to residents there."

According to Merari, Syria and Hizbullah would prefer that Israel remains in Lebanon, arguing that the Syrians know "that Lebanon is Israel¹s Achilles heel, and they would prefer to resolve the Lebanon and Golan Heights issues at the same time, whereas Hizbullah knows that an Israeli withdrawal would forbid them from continuing, and from carrying arms.²

Meanwhile, Nasrallah's statements caused a cluster of reactions in Israel. Military sources believe that lately there has even been a hardening of Hizbullah¹s position with respect to the possibility of attaining security arrangements in south Lebanon. Those sources recall an announcement made by Sheikh Nasrallah earlier this year that 1998 will be the year of "qualitative action against Israel.² Those sources said that not long ago, Nasrallah had referred to Jerusalem as being his organization's goal and spoke of his readiness to extend support to the Palestinians.

Political officials in Israel, however, said that Nasrallah's statements reflect perplexity following Israel¹s proposal about a withdrawal from Lebanon. Chairman of the Knesset Security and Foreign Affairs Committee, Uzi Landau, said that Nasrallah ³is not the leading player in the field and his remarks do not need to influence Israel¹s decisions in Lebanon.³

"The shark is Assad,² he said.

But opposition Labor Party member Haim Ramon, a former minister in Rabin's government, called for opening indirect contacts with Hizbullah, Arabic for "Party of God." Ramon said, "Should it be established that Hizbullah¹s position is indeed in favor of cessation of warfare following a unilateral withdrawal, then Israel should pull out immediately."

Major General Amiram Levine, head of the northern command in the Israeli army and the newly-appointed deputy head of the Mossad, said that Hizbullah had in fact escalated its operations in south Lebanon and noted that Hizbullah fighters have tried to launch attacks even against Israeli army helicopters and planes. He said that more than two thousand shells had been fired by Hizbullah fighters at Israeli military bases since the start of this year.

Previous Stories:
  Israeli President for immediate withdrawal from Lebanon   (3/6/1998)
  Syrian foreign minister rebuffs Israeli withdrawal offer   (3/5/1998)
  Hezbollah flexes muscle in Jerusalem Day parades   (1/24/1998)

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