Israel Holds Lebanon Responsible for Nahariyah; Vows Protection

Premier Yitzhak Rabin declared today that Israel holds Lebanon responsible for the murderous attack in Nahariyah. In a special statement to the Knesset, he promised that Israel would continue to take action to protect its citizens from such attacks in the future. Before the Premier’s statement, the Knesset stood in silence in memory of the four Israelis killed in Nahariyah this morning.

Information Minister Aharon Yariv told a press conference after the Knesset meeting that Israel had no doubt that Lebanon could. If it wished, take effective steps to curb infiltrations by terrorists. If it could not, then let it abdicate its rights and duties and Israel would take over the country. Yariv said. But he said Lebanon could act, especially if Arab states, particularly Egypt and Syria, supported Beirut in cracking down on terrorists.

Yariv admitted that borders cannot be hermetically sealed and steps to prevent terrorism cannot be completely effective. But he said there was a difference between taking such steps, as Lebanon has done in the past, and doing nothing as Lebanon was doing now. Israel will not “sit back and wait,” Yariv said, but will do everything “we can to protect our citizens by every means we consider appropriate.” He would not give any details but indicated that the bombings of terrorist bases in Lebanon would resume.

The Nahariyah raid, carried out by Fatah commandos, proved Israel’s thesis that there was no essential difference between the so-called “moderate” faction led by Yassir Arafat and the “extremists” led by Dr. George Habash, Jibril and others, Yariv maintained. All were in fact extremists aimed at eliminating the State of Israel, disagreeing only over tactics, he said. As a result of the continuing terrorist raids, Yariv said, Israel has to ask whether the Arab states which signed undertakings to seek a just and durable peace through negotiations were sincere in their intentions and whether Israel should believer their signatures or the threats made in Cairo and Damascus against Israel following the Israeli raids on the terrorist bases in Lebanon.

Yariv said if the Arabs were unwilling to control the terrorists this made their declaration on intentions to seek peace insincere. If they were unable to control the terrorists, this meant a peace settlement would be worthless since the terrorists could destroy it, he said. Yariv said Israel’s interest in reaching a peaceful settlement was sincere but Israel had to Judge its neighbors by their acts, not only by their words and signatures.

Yariv said that since the disengagement agreement was signed, Lebanon has become the sole jumping off point for terrorists. He said there was no indication that Syria was continuing its former practice of aiding the terrorists with Syrian regular and irregular troops and equipment including anti-aircraft missiles.

Meanwhile, some Israeli sources see the Nahariyah attack and today’s shelling of Kiryat Shemona as an attempt by the Palestinian terrorist organizations to drag Israel and the Arab states into an escalation of fighting, sabotaging the peace efforts. Regardless of this, the Israeli public was outraged and was demanding action.

Premier Rabin also said there was now sufficient indication that the recent terror acts were meant to jeopardize the “positive trends” which developed after the disengagement accords. He add that was why the terrorists were “using the complex political structure of Lebanon and the weak will of the Lebanese government. They are calling for an all-Arab solidarity and want to serve as ignitors of a spreading flame.” Warning there was no way to stop the terror quickly, he said “the fight against terror will continue no matter how long it will last.” (By David Landau)