Israel Beefs Up Forces in Lebanon in Response to Hezbollah Attacks

Israel has beefed up its forces inside southern Lebanon in response to an apparent change of strategy on the part of the Iranian-backed Hezbollah, which has begun firing heavy-caliber Katyusha rockets at settlements in northern Israel.

Tanks and heavy equipment moved northward as heightened violence along the Lebanon border marred continued peace negotiations in Washington.

News reports said fierce artillery duels escalated Tuesday when Lebanese army batteries joined pro-Iranian terrorists in shelling Israeli positions in the security zone.

About 50 missiles fell in two days, half in Israel and the remainder in the security zone. They caused no injuries and only minor damage.

Israelis spent a second night in shelters and anti-blast rooms along a wide area in the north, from Nahariya on the coast to Kiryat Shmona in the Galilee panhandle.

The overt movement northward of Israeli forces was clearly designed to add weight to warnings by Jerusalem that Hezbollah attacks would be met by a strong response.

Deputy Defense Minister Mordechai Gur appeared on Israeli television to tell Hezbollah guerrillas and the Beirut government “that the Israeli army is far more powerful than they are.”

Israeli officials say it is up to Lebanon and Syria to curb the Hezbollah. The fundamentalist terror group receives funds and arms supplied by Iran through Syrian-controlled territory.

Jerusalem cannot allow the situation to degenerate into a war of attrition against northern residents, who have shown a degree of fortitude in the current round of Katyusha bombardment.

The problem is how to retaliate without slipping into a renewal of the Lebanon War.

Israel has so far reacted to the latest Katyusha attacks by massive counterbombardment on the part of Israeli troops and their allied South Lebanon Army at areas of southern Lebanon where Hezbollah is known to operate.

In the Washington peace talks, Israel called the attention of the Syrian delegation to the urgent need to curb Hezbollah. The meeting Monday with the Lebanese was cut short after 50 minutes, to protest Beirut’s failure to halt the shelling.

The quandary facing the government — how to respond without creating an escalation, and how to react militarily while continuing the ongoing peace talks in Washington — has been the subject of editorial comment in the Hebrew press.

The daily Ha’aretz questioned the wisdom of the Israeli air force attack on Hezbollah bases Sunday night, after a period of quiet, when it was clear Katyushas were being fired in response to each Israeli attack, endangering civilians.

The newspaper said “preventive measures” of that kind played into the hands of Syria and Lebanon, who could now accuse Israel of starting a new cycle of hostilities.

The independent daily agreed with a former commander of Israeli forces in the north, Ori Orr, now chairman of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, that Israel should limit itself to specific pinpoint strikes.

It said it is pointless to widen the security zone, as has been suggested by Rafael Eitan, a former Israel Defense Force chief of staff who now heads the Knesset faction of the right-wing opposition Tsomet party.

The daily Ma’ariv said an official cease fire should be reached with Hezbollah or the terror group should be finished off completely.

The second option would mean full-fledged battles, casualties, a possible collision with Syria and a halt to the peace talks.

In any case, the present situation, in which inhabitants are being forced into shelters and schools are closed, is intolerable and unviable, the paper said.

Al Hamishmar, the newspaper of the Mapam party, urged measured retaliation while stopping short of being dragged into capturing more territory in Lebanon. It said the Syrians, Iranians and Lebanese should be persuaded by the West to stop the attacks.

Hatzofeh, the daily of the National Religious Party, said Syria holds the key to controlling Hezbollah but has no intention of intervening. Israel is at war in the truest sense and must act according to the rules of war, it said.