Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin expressed regret Wednesday that Israel’s bombardment of southern Lebanon had forced thousands of civilians to flee their villages.
But he said the Lebanese government could alleviate the problem by exerting control on guerrillas attacking Israel from its territory.
The air strikes and shelling continued Wednesday for the fourth day running, with Israel pounding targets in southern Lebanon and prompting tens of thousands of Lebanese villagers to flee their homes for the safety of the north.
An estimated 150,000 to 200,000 Lebanese civilians are reported to have fled the region this week.
Three Israelis have been killed and 31 injured since the operation began on Sunday, while reports from Lebanon said an estimated 80 Lebanese have been killed and 31 injured.
Rabin, addressing the Knesset, said the Lebanese and Syrian governments must put an end to rocket attacks on Israel carried out by the pro-Iranian Hezbollah militia from bases in southern Lebanon.
“Only if this happens,” Rabin said, in comments directed to the Lebanese refugees, “will you be able to return to your homes in the south.”
“Lebanon is in the midst of a process of reconstruction,” Rabin noted. “If it does not want to reverse the tide,” it “must do everything against the Hezbollah.”
Despite the direct challenge to Lebanon, Israeli policy-makers are well aware of the fact that Lebanon would not move a finger against Hezbollah without Syrian approval. Syria stations 35,000 troops in Lebanon, virtually controlling the country down to the Israeli-controlled security zone in the south.
Referring to Syria, Rabin said that it was trying to pressure Israel by talking peace in Washington and waging war through its Hezbollah proxy in Lebanon.
“We will not be pressured,” the prime minister said, vowing to continue the operation “until there is peace in the north.”
But Rabin hinted for the first time at a possible deal with Syria and Lebanon on southern Lebanon. “The struggle against terrorism can open the door for deals with the government of Lebanon on securing peace in the north,” he said.
Rabin’s speech was frequently interrupted by Knesset member Tamar Gozansky of the Hadash Communist party and Abdel Wahab Darawshe of the Arab Democratic Party.
Darawshe accused Israel of carrying out a transfer of the Lebanese population in its bombardment of civilian settlements that he said was along the lines of far-right Moledet party’s call for a transfer of the Arab population from the Land of Israel.
LIKUD BACKS THE GOVERNMENT
The head of Moledet, Rehavam Ze’evi, listened to Darawshe and nodded in agreement — a rare concurrence between the two political foes.
As Darawshe continued shouting, Knesset Speaker Shevah Weiss ordered him out of the plenum.
Rabin said he welcomed the forthcoming mission of U.S. Secretary of State Warren Christopher, stressing Israel’s wish that peace negotiations continue and that Hezbollah’s aim to disrupt the negotiations fails.
He expressed confidence that the peace process would not be affected by the operation, ignoring a statement by Syria’s foreign minister Wednesday in a newspaper interview that Damascus could not negotiate peace “under the threat of guns.”
Rabin concluded his address telling the Israeli residents of the north, who have been forced to stay in bomb shelters or specially reinforced rooms: “I am no longer a soldier, and you are civilians, but I salute you on behalf of everybody.”
Speaking on behalf of the opposition, Likud leader Benjamin Netanyahu declared support for the government and the military operation. He said the target of the operation should not be a temporary cease-fire, but rather the permanent removal of the threat of Katyusha rockets.
To achieve that goal, Netanyahu said Israel needed to use a combination of military action against Hezbollah and political action with Syria.
Netanyahu said he doubted that pressure by the displaced Lebanese civilian population would be effective, suggesting instead that the United States needs to exert pressure on Syria.
The Cabinet met briefly Wednesday for a briefing on developments in the battle zone. Ministers were not asked to approve further action, which meant that Israel, for the time being, would not step up its assault to include ground troops.
Israelis residents in the north continued to take refuge in secure rooms and shelters, or leave the area to stay with friends and relatives in the south.
The Jewish Agency for Israel has established an emergency headquarters in the north to give new immigrants information on the conflict in Russian and Amharic, the language spoken by Ethiopians.
The Jewish Agency also sent representatives to aid those confined to bomb shelters.
One Israeli woman was slightly injured Wednesday evening when a Katyusha rocket fell in western Galilee.
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.
