A Bedouin soldier of the Israel Defense Force was killed and another was wounded during an exchange of fire with a band of terrorist infiltrators in south Lebanon Friday night. One terrorist was killed. The dead IDF soldier, Salah Ka’abiya, was buried in Ka’abiya, his home village which bears the name of his clan.
A military spokesman said the incident occurred near Jezzine in the central sector of the front where an IDF patrol found the trail of infiltrators who had crossed the Awali River. The pursuit ended in the exchange of fire which produced the casualties.
An explosive charge detonated on a roadside east of Tyre in south Lebanon this morning without causing injuries, an IDF spokesman said.
CONDITIONS FOR WITHDRAWING FROM LEBANON
Meanwhile, Defense Minister Yitzhak Rabin repeated Friday that Israel would not withdraw the IDF from south Lebanon until satisfactory security arrangements are made to ensure the safety of Israel’s northern border. This principle is contained in the guidelines agreed to by the Labor and Likud components of the unity government.
Premier Shimon Peres, who was to return to Israel today from his seven-day visit to the U.S., told a press conference in New York Friday that the government would decide when to pull the IDF out of Lebanon within three weeks and that withdrawal, once begun, would take 6-9 months. Peres has given that timetable before. Foreign Minister Yitzhak Shamir has continued to state publicly, however, that he has no knowledge of Peres’ withdrawal plans.
According to Rabin’s statement, released after a meeting with the visiting Defense Minister of Ireland, withdrawal and security arrangements would involve, directly or indirectly, Syria, Lebanon, the South Lebanese Army (SLA) and the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL).
Rabin said he thought UNIFIL would have an important part to play in ensuring Israel’s security. He said it would deploy in new positions because its present lines imposed limitations on its operations. He stressed that the Israel-backed SLA was an essential part of the defense.
(At the United Nations, the Security Council on Friday extended the mandate of UNIFIL for another six months until April 19, 1985. The vote was 13-0 with two abstentions. The USSR and the Ukraine abstained.)
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