The Palestine Liberation Organization is about to open a broad front against Israel in southern Lebanon, the head of one of the group’s terrorist factions was quoted as saying.
Nayef Hawatme, head of the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine, was quoted by Davar as saying that the PLO would take such action in coordination with Syria and left-wing Lebanese elements.
Hawatme was also quoted as saying in Damascus that the moment the Syria-PLO reconciliation process is completed, the terrorist organization will transfer its headquarters from Tunis to Damascus.
Davar also said that the mainstream Shiite Amal militia has uncovered and confiscated a large weapons cache, belonging jointly to Hezbollah and Palestinian terrorist organizations, near the Zaharani River in southern Lebanon.
Amal leader Nabih Berri said that the cache included combat material, and a greater quantity of ammunition than what Amal already possessed in that area.
Meanwhile, Hadashot reported Friday that Syria and Iran have secretly agreed on operational cooperation in southern Lebanon, as well as the distribution of areas of activity among Hezbollah, the PLO and other terrorist organizations acting under Syria’s aegis.
Since hundreds of Syrian soldiers crossed the Awali River and headed for Sidon a month ago, the Syrians have found themselves increasingly involved in wars among competing militias, particularly those involving Amal.
The paper said this involvement has led Syria to discover large-scale Iranian involvement, forcing it to reach an agreement with Teheran regarding the distribution of forces in southern Lebanon.
Syria also discovered that during the past few weeks, the Iranian ambassador to Lebanon has been in southern Lebanon commanding Hezbollah forces against Amal.
It is estimated in Israel that increasing extremism in the Arab world, as well as understandings reached by Syria with the PLO and Iran, will lead to an escalation of terrorism from Lebanon, Hadashot reported.
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.
