Serious doubts that a United Nations peace-keeping force will solve the problem of south Lebanon and ensure Israel’s security from terrorist attacks were expressed by Labor Party leader Shimon Peres and others at a meeting of the Labor Party Bureau last night. The Laborites stressed the point that Israel’s military operation in south Lebanon was not aimed at territorial gains but to secure the safety of the Israeli population and once this was achieved, the soldiers would return to their bases.
Peres and Prof. Moshe Arens, chairman of the Knesset’s Foreign Affairs and Security Committee, agreed that the only way to pacify south Lebanon was to rely on the Lebanese willing to oppose the terrorists. Peres suggested a force composed of Maronite Christians and Moslems of the Shi’a sect who would maintain security under the protection of Israeli guns.
He was critical of Premier Menachem Begin’s proposed arrangements with all factors which, Peres said, could be interpreted as Israeli recognition of the Syrian-led all-Arab peace force in Lebanon, the Syrian army presence and, indirectly, even the terrorists.
Arens said Israel should attempt to build forces composed of south Lebanese to fight the terrorists. He said Israel’s experiences with the UN were not encouraging in the past and there was no reason to believe they would be better in Lebanon. Yosef Tekoah, Israel’s former Ambassador to the UN, claimed that if UN forces replaced the Israeli army in south Lebanon, Israel’s entire military operation there would have been a waste.
Meanwhile, die-hards of the Herut Knesset faction, led by Geulah Cohen, are urging the party to adopt a resolution rejecting the American-sponsored resolution calling for a UN peace force in Lebanon. Cohen said the haste with which the U.S. acted was an insult to begin. Perhaps the strongest opposition to the UN plan is coming from the Christian minority in south Lebanon. They are convinced that an international peace-keeping force will be unable to prevent the Palestinian terrorists from returning to south Lebanon once Israeli forces pull out.
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