A Syrian civilian administration today took over the narrow western part of the Yom Kippur War enclave evacuated by Israeli forces yesterday. Israel is scheduled to complete its withdrawal under the disengagement agreement tomorrow when it pulls out of Kuneitra and the western slope of Mt. Hermon.
Syrian forces, meanwhile, have withdrawn from the “Fatahland” region of southeast Lebanon where they had been entrenched since the war of attrition on Israel’s northern front. They left behind sophisticated weapons including the SAM-7 antiaircraft missiles, according to reports published here today.
Israeli sources said that the long-term aim of its bombing of terrorist bases in Lebanon was to convince the terrorists that the price of war is high and that they should try to solve the Palestinian issue through political means. A short-term aim was to get the terrorists to abandon the refugee camps. It was reported today that the terrorists have cut back their operations in countries outside the Mideast and are concentrating on acts within Israel by specially trained units. One reason given for this is that they have been blocked abroad by the Israeli intelligence service together with other intelligence services.
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
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.
