Peres Says Killing of Two 19-year-old IDF Soldiers in Lebanon Was Isolated Incident

Premier Shimon Peres said today he hoped that the killing yesterday of two Israel Defense Force soldiers in a clash with terrorists in the south Lebanon security zone was an isolated incident.

“The fighting has now stopped and the (Lebanon) war has ended,” Peres said during a tour of industrial plants in the Haifa area. The two 19-year-old IDF soldiers were the first casualties suffered by Israel in Lebanon since last April.

But attacks on IDF troops in south Lebanon and on the Israel-backed South Lebanon Army continued today when a Shiite Moslem suicide bomber riding on a mule killed himself and his animal when he set off an explosive charge of unknown size hidden in the panniers (baskets) slung from the mule.

SUICIDE BOMBER USES A MULE

The bomber approached the fence surrounding the SLA headquarters outside Hasbaya in the security zone and triggered the blast. It cause some damage to the building, but no casualties.

Previous suicide bombers have used cars, favoring Mercedes, for their operations. There were four such car bomb attacks on SLA or Israeli troops in south Lebanon last month. The last car bombing attack occurred on July 31 when two IDF soldiers were wounded and two Lebanese were killed. The dead included the bomber, a 13-year-old boy.

PERES: ISRAEL TO FIGHT TERRORISM

Peres, meanwhile, during his tour of industrial plants, said terrorist attacks against Israel would not force the government to change what he termed its moral standards and impose the death penalty on terrorist murderers or collective punishment.

But, he added, the government will make every effort to prevent terrorism, and Israel has therefore reintroduced the system of administration detention, “and if necessary we will expel guilty persons from Israel,” he said.

The Cabinet last Sunday, at its weekly session, approved new security measures including detention without trial and deportation of persons considered security risks. The Cabinet, however, decided not to debate new legislation for the death penalty for terrorist murderers.

RABIN REGRETS U.S. CRITICISM

The United States yesterday urged Israel not to implement the stricter security measures for the West Bank and Gaza approved by the Cabinet. While the State Department said it deplored the “recent acts of violence in Israel and the occupied territories,” it added that “we consider such measures as likely to foster further tensions.”

Nonetheless, Defense Minister Yitzhak Rabin said he regretted statements from Washington critical of Israel’s policies in dealing with terrorists. He affirmed that Israel will continue to act as it saw fit in dealing with terrorists and terrorism, or those who encourage or foment terrorism.