New exchanges of fire between Palestinians and Christian villagers in south Lebanon today and Israel’s apparent intention to turn over its positions to local Christian forces, raised further complications in that region as Israeli troops prepared for their final withdrawal this Tuesday. Gen. Emmanuel Erskine of Ghana, commander of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), said in an Israel interview yesterday that he was “very disappointed” that the Christian militia rather than the UN troops will be given control of the vital security belt along the Israeli-Lebanese border.
Israel’s 11th hour commando raid Friday that destroyed a terrorist maritime base on the Lebanese coast south of the part of Sidon, seems to have had no effect on the situation in south Lebanon. The base, at Dar el Burj, some 21 kilometers from the Israeli border, was well north of the Litani River that defines the limits of the area occupied by Israel last March.
It was assaulted in a pre-dawn attack by Israeli naval forces and paratroopers who demolished all six buildings and killed at least ten terrorists, about one-third of those who manned the base. Two Israeli officers of lieutenant’s rank were killed and eight soldiers were injured when the raiders blew up one of the buildings that, unknown to them, was an ammunition storehouse packed with high explosives. The injured men were evacuated by helicopter to hospitals in Israel. Their injuries were reported to range from slight to serious.
LEARNED TERRORISTS PLANNED RAID
Israel announced that the raid was undertaken as a result of intelligence reports that the terrorists were planning to launch a new attack on Israel’s coast in the next few days, similar to the March 11th assault on the Haifa-Tel Aviv highway which prompted the invasion of south Lebanon.
(In Washington Friday, State Department spokesman John Trattner said the Israeli raid “underlines again the need to restore peace and stability to Lebanon and to reach a settlement of the Arab-Israeli conflict.” Trattner added, “I don’t have any feeling that there is any linkage between the action today (Friday) and the Israeli announced intention to withdraw” from Lebanon. “Every indication we have is that they do intend to withdraw June 13 as they have said they would.”)
Gen. Erskine said in the interview yesterday
ERSKINE EXPRESSES DISAPPOINTMENT
Erskine said “I am very disappointed. I enjoyed the maximum cooperation from the Israelis in the two previous withdrawal phases … Positions were handed over to us at little informal ceremonies. But that cooperation is not there today… If things do not go well, what do we do Tuesday? If I get instructions to talk to them (the Christians) I shall. But if there is a hitch, if there are problems, to whom do we turn? I shall personally hold Israel responsible.”
Meanwhile, settlers in northern Israel reported today that terrorist artillery was fired over the heads of UN troops at Christian villages and that the Christians returned the fire. They said terrorists were also firing mortars and machineguns on villages in the Litani River valley. UN forces reportedly were prevented by Christian units from entering a Christian-controlled enclave.
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.
