Shelling of Target in Lebanon Termed Preventive Fire Action

Israeli units fired a number of 120 mm. mortar shells at a hillside target between two villages across the Lebanese border today. The incident was witnessed by a group of foreign journalists who were being escorted on a tour of the border region at the time.

The local commander described it as a preventive fire strike ordered because of suspicious movements on the hillside which indicated that terrorists might have been preparing an ambush or infiltration of Israeli territory. The officer said Israeli troops are under strict orders not to fire at villages or other population centers across the Lebanese lines.

The absence of Lebanese regular army troops from positions along the Israeli border came as a surprise to the journalists and to some of their officer hosts in view of Defense Minister Shimon Peres’ statement on an Army Radio broadcast Monday that Lebanese units had returned to the border region which they evacuated at the height of the civil war last month.

It was obvious today that large stretches of the border region are empty of troops, creating a vacuum that the terrorists might easily fill. The discrepancy between Peres’ statement and the deserted Lebanese army posts was explained later by the fact that the Defense Minister was misunderstood when he said that two of the three Lebanese battalions formerly stationed in the south had returned. According to Ministry sources, Peres reported that the Lebanese troops had returned only to their main camps south of the Litani River but not to the border outposts.

INCREASED ALERTNESS REQUIRED

Gen. Raphael Eytan, commander of the northern front, told a meeting of regional commanders today that the vacuum along the Lebanese side of the border created a military imbalance that required increased alertness by Israeli forces. The visiting journalists were told that the absence of Lebanese troops in the region gave the terrorists a free hand.

The Lebanese soldiers, at least theoretically, were supposed to keep a rein on the terrorists although that was not always the case even when the soldiers were at their posts. At the moment, tens of kilometers of border are un-manned on the Lebanese side and even the border check point at Rosh Hanikra on the Mediterranean coast remains deserted by Lebanese troops, the journalists were informed.

The visiting newsmen were also told how Israeli soldiers can distinguish between Lebanese regulars and Palestinian terrorists. The latter carry Russian-made Kalachnikoff assault rifles while the Lebanese army is equipped with American M-16s.