2 Israeli Soldiers Killed, 5 Hurt in Clash with Terrorists As Cabinet Receives Request to Speedup Pu

Two Israeli soldiers were killed and five were wounded in a clash with terrorists in south Lebanon today. A military spokesman announced the latest casualties as the Cabinet formally received a proposal to speedup the Israel Defense Force’s phased withdrawal from Lebanon.

The spokesman identified the dead soldiers as Sgt. Rafi Kasher, 20, of Tel Aviv and Sgt. Nadav Kovatz, 21, of Kibbutz Yiftach. They brought to 17 the number of fatalities suffered by the IDF in south Lebanon since the beginning of March.

According to the spokesman, today’s clash occurred near Jibshit village, west of Nabatiya, when an IDF foot patrol came under enfilade fire from three directions. The soldiers returned the fire and took refuge in a house on the outskirts of the village. The house was soon attacked by rocket-propelled grenades. Several residents were injured. It was not stated whether the IDF casualties were caused by the RPGs or the earlier ambush.

There were two other attacks on IDF units in south Lebanon today, neither of which caused casualties.

EXPECTS DEBATE WITHIN 2 WEEKS

Meanwhile, Communications Minister Amnon Rubinstein of the Shinui faction told reporters after today’s Cabinet session that while the issue of accelerated withdrawal from Lebanon did not come up, his proposal for a speed-up was formally submitted to the Cabinet Secretariate and was conveyed to the Defense Minister for his prior attention.

Rubinstein said he was confident his proposal would be debated by the Cabinet in two weeks, unless the ministers evolved a position on it sooner. His plan calls for combining the second and third stages of the withdrawal process. Stage two, presently in motion, was originally scheduled to take three months or longer to complete and would leave the IDF deployed along the Litani River-Hasbaya line. Stage three, pulling the IDF back to the international border, would not be completed until some time next summer.

Rubinstein proposed returning the IDF to the border in a single combined operation. He said he was supported by Minister- Without-Portfolio Ezer Weizman of the Yahad faction and by several Labor Party ministers.

ORR: SHORTER TIME, THE BETTER

Defense Minister Yitzhak Rabin said in an interview over the weekend that he backed an amalgamation of “certain elements of” the two stages but he did not elaborate.

Lt. Gen. Ori Orr, commander of the northern sector, admitted in a radio interview today that the shorter time his troops remained in Lebanon, the better. He said the escalation of attacks on IDF units was due to their more “open” disposition during the pull-back operation. Israeli soldiers found themselves in heavily populated areas mixing with local residents, some of whom are hostile, he said.

But Orr insisted that Israel was not withdrawing because it was being forced out of Lebanon. It was the government’s decision, he said. He said recent IDF actions and searches of hostile villages have achieved considerable success. He noted that about 50-60 terrorists have been killed since the three-stage withdrawal began and many more suspects have been detained.

SYRIAN MOVES WATCHED CLOSELY

Meanwhile, the situation in Lebanon became more ominous over the weekend with the sudden Syrian intervention against a dissident faction of Christian Phalangists, headed by Samir Jeajea which has moved to unseat President Amin Gemayel. The Syrians reportedly have moved tanks and troops into the northern fringes of the Christian-held heartland north of Beirut where the move against Gemayel is taking shape.

Syrian Defense Minister Mustafa Tlas was quoted as saying, “The objective of the move is to assist President Gemayel and the legitimate order in Lebanon. It is aimed at supporting the Lebanese army and preventing the situation from further deterioration.”

Israeli officials and the IDF are keeping a close watch on the Syrian moves. The Syrians are reported to be using PLO units against the Christian rebels.