Premier Menachem Begin reported this evening that Israel’s military operation in Lebanon was effectively concluded with Israeli forces in control of a 100-kilometer security belt along the Lebanese border of an average depth of 10 kilometers. Begin, accompanied by Defense Minister Ezer Weizman and Chief of Staff Gen. Mordechai Gur, addressed reporters at a press conference after a special Cabinet meeting.
The Premier said he “expects an agreement or arrangement as a result of which the terrorists shall not return to those places from which they were ejected” by the Israeli army operation in south Lebanon today. He said the government had sent the army into Lebanon not to “stay there permanently” but that Israel would no longer countenance a situation in which south Lebanon served as a base for terrorist attacks. He indicated that Israeli forces would stay in south Lebanon, or at least exercise control of that area, until the agreement he mentioned was reached.
Begin did not specify with which parties he expected to reach an agreement. The PLO, obviously, was out of the question, he said. But he hinted that Syria was among “all the relevant factors.” He said there was no approach from Washington for Israel to end its incursion into Lebanon. The only messages from President Carter and Secretary of State Cyrus Vance were condolences for Saturday’s atrocity, he said.
100 TERRORISTS REPORTED KILLED
Gur said that some 100 EI Fatah terrorists were killed in fighting at close quarters. Weizman added that he assumed more had been slain by bombing and artillery shelling. Gur said that some 2000 Fatah men were “usually” present in the border area. He did not specify the fate of those not killed but observers assumed that many or most had fled. Gur said the Syrians had been “as careful as us” not to get involved in fighting with Israeli forces. He denied that Israeli troops were holding bridges on the Litani River.
Begin said he had explained to President Carter in a message last night that Israel’s action was not retaliatory because “there can be no retaliation for the killing of innocent women and children” but was an exercise in the inherent right of legitimate self-defense in view of the PLO’s threat to repeat Saturday’s outrage.
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