Israeli sources today countered American protests that Israeli forces are using United States-made weapons in their raids on terrorist bases in south Lebanon by charging that the terrorists are also using American weapons.
The sources said the weapons, stolen from the Lebanese army, include 30M-105 millimeter artillery pieces. The Israelis also point out that the terrorists are using relatively new U.S. made artillery ammunition which leads them to suspect it was taken from the arms given Lebanon by the U.S. in the recent $100 million arms deal. The terrorists now have 100 artillery guns, the Israelis report, most of it Soviet-made.
Meanwhile, Israeli military sources said the artillery offensive by Israel and the Christian militia led by Maj. Saad Haddad foiled four potential acts of terrorism against Israel over the weekend. The sources said terrorist gangs were sent to four different parts of south Lebanon in order to stage terrorist raids on Israel. The terrorist acts were to be part of the Palestine Liberation Organization’s political campaign at the United Nations, according to the sources. Military and civilian sources in northern Israel stressed that Israel’s military activity has damaged the efforts of terrorists to hit Israeli targets.
It has been learned, meanwhile, that all of the Palestinian and left-wing Lebanese groups in south Lebanon are under the command of a PLO official, Col. Haj Ismayil.
In another development, villagers from south Lebanon demonstrated today at the “good fence” at Metulla to demand more Israeli aid in the struggle against the Palestinians and Syrians. They denounced the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) which they accused of collaborating with the terrorists and cheered Haddad whose Christian militia they said gave them a sense of security they never enjoyed before.
Meanwhile, in Kiryat Shemona, the northern Israel town that has been the target of many rocket attacks, there was a new feeling of security today when 94 new families moved into the town. Many of them are teachers which will ensure the smooth opening of the school year next week.
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.
