Israeli officials are keeping a sharp watch on events in Sidon where rival religious factions have been fighting for the past three days. The Israel Defense Force evacuated Sidon, the largest seaport in south Lebanon, a month ago and violence erupted there almost immediately. The latest and most serious battles are between rebel Christian Phalangist forces led by Samir Jeajea and forces loyal to President Amin Gemayel, head of the Phalangist party whom the rebels accuse of being under the thumb of Syria.
Eight persons have been killed so far this week and about 60 wounded. Moslem militiamen who have joined the battle blame Israel for the unrest. The Syrians, like the Israelis, are keeping a close watch on the situation but have not intervened directly so far.
IDF WITHDRAWAL ACCELERATES
The IDF, meanwhile, is continuing to dismantle and remove stores and equipment from Mt. Barukh in the eastern sector of the front, the northernmost point in Lebanon still under Israeli control. The pace of the IDF’s withdrawal has accelerated noticeably in recent days.
At the same time, army engineers are reconstructing and strengthening defenses along the international border which will be the IDF’s first line of defense once the evacuation of Israeli troops from south Lebanon is completed.
Premier Shimon Peres said yesterday that the IDF will be out of “almost all of Lebanon” in 8-10 weeks. The border defense will be based, as in the past, on electronic warning devices, minefields and barbed wire barricades, re-enforced by concrete road blocks. Special measures will be taken to intercept and destroy booby-trapped cars attempting to enter Israel.
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The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
