Lahd militia forces are recruited to guard the Israeli buses

The Israeli ministry of transport announced yesterday that several members of the former southern Lebanon militia members will be recruited within 1,000 extra guards in one month to ensure security for the Israeli public buses.

The spokesman for the ministry said that those elements who speak Arabic will receive special training on monitoring likely Palestinian suiciders.

Despite the fact that scores of suicide operations had taken place since the eruption of al-Aqsa Intifada in September 2000, only 600 guards are recruited to ensure protection for 8,000 civilian buses in Israel.

Some 6500 members of the former south Lebanese army militias which were part of the Israeli forces during their occupation of southern Lebanon, fled with their families to Israel after the Israeli withdrawal from south Lebanon in May 2000 under the Israeli government of Ehud Barak ( the Labor party).

The Lebanese authorities are talking about miserable living conditions for those militia members in Israel. More than two thirds of them returned back to Lebanon since then.

At the meantime, 750 former members of this militia live with their families, according to an official Israeli source to the mass media.