Lebanon's Hizbollah movement refused to comment Monday on allegations that one of its members had been arrested in Israel while preparing to stage an attack, reported AFP.
Israeli outgoing Prime Minister Ehud Barak's office said Sunday that Israel's internal security service (Shin Beth) had arrested Jihad Shuman, "who holds a British passport and is suspected of having been sent from Lebanon by Hizbollah to stage an attack in Israel."
"We have no information and no comment to make on this matter," Hizbollah's press office told AFP.
The Israeli statement said Shuman was arrested in early January and "is still being interrogated on his recruitment in Lebanon and his mission in Israel."
Shuman’s lawyer told The Jerusalem Post that her client was charged with "having been commissioned by a terrorist organization to stage attacks in Israel."
She said he pleaded not guilty and categorically denied he had entered Israel with the intention of carrying out "terrorist activities."
Shuman's lawyer also said he complained of "having been tortured during his detention," said the Post.
In south Lebanon, Hizbollah fighters and local residents in Kfar Shuba prevented UNIFIL patrols from approaching the Lebanese-Israeli border on Sunday during routine UN checkups of the area, said the Daily Star newspaper.
They told the patrol to turn around as it drove toward Hassan Hate near Kfar Shuba beside the United Nations-delineated Blue Line.
UNIFIL soldiers installed a mobile observation point on a small rise last week, 600 meters away from the Blue Line. The post overlooks parts of Shabaa farms and the Israeli outpost of Jabal Summaq.
UNIFIL spokesman, Timur Goksel, described the incident Sunday as a "serious violation."
The paper said that Sunday was the third consecutive day that Hizbollah and local residents turned away UNIFIL soldiers.
In another development, Israeli warplanes broke Sunday the sound barrier over Beirut, before heading toward the Bekaa Valley, the paper added. Sunday's incursions by the Israeli jets were the first since Likud’s leader Ariel Sharon was elected Israeli prime minister.
In previous statements by Hizbollah, such incursions are considered an act of war against Lebanon, which legitimize counterattacks against Israel -- Albawaba.com
© 2001 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
