The commander of Christian forces in the western sector of southern Lebanon visited Nahariya today and praised Israel for the humanitarian assistance it has rendered his co-religionists in that war-torn region. Maj. Abu Emille, accompanied by several of his officers, surprised the Mayor of Nahariya and other Israelis by addressing them in fluent Hebrew. He said he learned the language during a four-month stay at a hospital in northern Israel recovering from battle wounds.
Emille said that the villages of southern Lebanon are cut off from all communications except those via the open fence on Israel’s border which provides them with telephone and postal services. He said that several villages rely on Israel for their water supply, some are planning to link up with Israel’s electric power system and all buy their merchandise in Israel. The officer spoke bitterly of the outside world that sees what is happening in Lebanon but does nothing.
Meanwhile, a group of 45 villagers from southern Lebanon spent the weekend at the Jerusalem Plaza Hotel as guests of the hotel management. The invitation was extended as a “humanitarian gesture.” The group was escorted by Msgr. Augustin Harfoush, head of the Maronite Christian church in Israel.
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