Defense Minister Moshe Arens declared today that Israel would stay in Lebanon “as long as required” to ensure the safety of its northern borders. He said the entire nation agreed “that if we get out tomorrow it will not be long” before Galilee is subjected to bombardment.
Arens reiterated the government’s official policy with regard to Lebanon in an address to the Zionist General Council meeting here. He said it made no sense for Israel to proclaim that “we don’t care if Syria stays” in Lebanon when the Lebanese government itself, the U.S. government and most Western governments are demanding that Syria pull its forces out of Lebanon.
The Defense Minister appeared to be replying to rumors that the departure of the Israel Defense Force from south Lebanon regardless of what the Syrians did was an option under consideration by the government. He stressed that Israel’s sole aim was “the protection of our citizens” living in the north of the country. The IDF remains in Lebanon in order to establish the security arrangements that will protect the border region, he said.
LABOR ACCUSED OF’ORWELLIAN DOUBLESPEAK’
Arens accused the Labor opposition of “Orwellian doublespeak” when it said it favored Israel’s unilateral withdrawal from Lebanon and also spoke of security. According to Arens, this was a contradiction of purpose. “We will not listen to counsels of despair. We have the stamina to stay (in Lebanon) as long as required to provide protection for the north,” he said.
Informed sources here said later today that Israel expects the Lebanese army to deploy units south of Beirut shortly, along the coastal road leading to the IDF line on the Awali River, If that move is successfully executed — under the terms of a security agreement under negotiation between the rival factions in Lebanon–it would accelerate Israel’s own withdrawal from Lebanon, the sources said.
ISRAEL TRYING TO WOO THE SHIITES
Israel has been trying, with scant success, to establish friendly relations with Shiite military forces in south Lebanon. The objective is to ensure that the Palestine Liberation Organization will not return to the south after the IDF pulls out. Israel is hopeful that the Lebanese army would eventually be involved in such arrangements, as provided by the May 17, 1983 agreement between Lebanon and Israel.
But the sources conceded that relations between Israel and the Shiite Moslems who are the majority population in south Lebanon, have been strained of late. For that reason, the IDF intends to ease restrictions on the Awali River bridges to facilitate the movement of people and goods between south Lebanon and the rest of the country, once the Lebanese army deploys on the north bank of the river.
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.
