Lahd says Israeli withdrawal could cause SLA troops to join Hizbullah

In an interview with the French "Le Figaro" newspaper, SLA leader, General Antione Lahd, said that if Israel pulled out of its south Lebanon occupation zone without an agreement, countersigned by Syria, guaranteeing the safety of his troops, half of the troops would join Hizbullah and the others would begin attacks on Israel.

The newspaper reported the bad situation and confusion prevailing among the Israeli-supported South Lebanon Army (SLA). It also referred to the militiamen leader's admission that 600 militiamen had been killed during daily clashes with the Lebanese national resistance-men over the last 13 years.

Israel continued its series of arrests in Arnoon, yesterday, when an Israeli force captured a Lebanese woman, Zeynab Nasser, from her home in the village. Zeynab is the wife of Mustafa Toba and mother of Ali Toba, who were both arrested by Israeli forces in the beginning of October. Nasser was arrested one day after appealing to the International Committee of the Red Cross for her family's release. The Amal movement condemned the incident and demanded international institutions' intervention to free the detained, and namely the women and the children.

On the other hand, the Monitoring Committee of the Cease-Fire is holding a meeting tomorrow to study two Israeli complaints. The first complaint concerns the land mines allegedly placed by the resistance on the Hola road. The second is a claim that a resistance attack was launched from a civilian neighborhood.