Reliable sources said here today that Israel would reconsider its present policy of watchful non-intervention in the Lebanese conflict if the Arab League’s decision in Cairo yesterday to send a pan-Arab force into Lebanon materializes. Official sources stressed, however, that there has been no change yet in Israel’s policy toward Lebanon.
According to the circles, the Syrians are aiming at a decisive victory over the Palestinian terrorists they are now battling in Lebanon before any multi-national Arab force reaches that country. They are therefore moving more men and equipment into Lebanon and are trying to gain control of the main road from Syria to Beirut which has been blocked by the terrorists and Lebanese leftists.
Syrian strength in Lebanon is now estimated at a full armored division and Damascus has apparently reached the point where it cannot turn back without incurring the stigma of defeat, the circles said. They also noted the movement of Iraqi army units westward toward the Syrian border. These units are not intended for entry into Lebanon but to exert pressure on Damascus to accept the decisions of the Arab League conference in Cairo to limit its involvement in Lebanon. the circles said.
Meanwhile, the Chief of Staff of Israel’s armed forces, Gen. Mordechai Gur, said today that the Syrians and Palestinians presently fighting each other in Lebanon may decide to turn against Israel once the Lebanese conflict is over. He said the terrorists in particular may have been encouraged by their successes against Syrian regulars and warned, “Let them not be mistaken, when the Israeli army fights it is not like the Syrians, it fights to win.” Gur made his remarks to an infantry unit composed mainly of Druze soldiers which just completed an exercise in northern Israel.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
