Israeli positions on occupied Shebaa Farms, along the border with Lebanon, came under fire Tuesday afternoon. The Israeli troops in the area returned fire.
Earlier, Lebanon has confirmed "at the highest level" that it has no intention of opening a new front in the Mideast conflict, Syria's U.N. ambassador told the U.N. Security Council.
According to AP, ambassador Mikhail Wehbe's statement followed warnings from Israel and the United States that attacks by Hizbullah guerrillas from south Lebanon across the U.N.-drawn boundary with Israel threaten to widen the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
"Lebanon confirmed at the highest level that Lebanon has no intention whatsoever to open a new front," Wehbe said Monday.
He said Lebanon blames Israeli "provocation" for the escalating violence, citing more than 1,000 violations of Lebanese airspace by Israeli aircraft, as well as violations of its territory and seas.
At the heart of the dispute is the U.N. boundary, known as the Blue Line, which was drawn after Israel pulled out of south Lebanon in May 2000, ending an 18-year occupation.
Last week, U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan delivered a warning from Israel to Syrian and Lebanese leaders that stepped-up attacks by Hizbullah could bring "alarming consequences" for the Middle East.
Wehbe told the Security Council he was informed by Lebanon's U.N. Mission on Tuesday "that what is taking place in southern Lebanon is confined to the Shebaa Farms." The UN considers the Shebaa Farms part of the Syrian Golan Heights and has therefore placed it behind the demarcation Blue Line. Lebanon and Syria consider the land Lebanese and consequently regard the Hizbullah campaign to liberate it as legitimate.
U.S. Ambassador John Negroponte accused Hizbullah and its backers of violating U.N. resolutions.
"Hizbullah actions can only be understood as a deliberate effort to escalate the situation and widen the conflict just as Secretary of State Powell arrives in the region to promote" Security Council resolutions demanding an immediate Palestinian-Israel cease-fire and withdrawal of Israeli forces from Palestinian cities, he said.
"In the current, extremely dangerous situation, we call on all sides, especially Lebanese and Syrian leaders who have influence over Hizbullah's actions, to exercise maximum restraint and work to prevent a serious escalation that could destablize the region," Negroponte said.
Meanwhile, Hizbullah Secretary-General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah said Monday that opening the Lebanese front should be reserved for a possible forced transfer of Palestinians from the occupied territories.
“(Israeli Prime Minister Ariel) Sharon has in mind (a plan) to displace the Palestinians (in the Occupied Territories). And we, therefore, have to keep a weapon and an option to confront such a threat,” Nasrallah told an audience of around 500 in Haret Hreik.
He explained that widening the conflict with Israel “all the way from the (Mediterranean) sea to Mount Hermon” would not take place now. “If we use this option and Sharon expelled the Palestinians later, we would have no means left to use against the Israelis and therefore we should preserve this weapon,” he said.
However, he said such a decision “might not come after months, but rather after weeks or days,” adding: “When we feel that it is the right moment that would bring a realistic interest for Hizbullah and for the intifada, Hizbullah will not hesitate to do anything.”
In any case, “no military action carried out on the Lebanese front could stop (Sharon) from what he’s doing in the West Bank, despite the fact that the (Lebanese) front would make the Israelis pay a high price,” he said.
“What is less than that which could be done is the act of attacking all (Israeli) outposts in the Shebaa Farms, an action accepted by even Arab governments since the area is occupied,” he said.
Nasrallah said he hoped the UN would be as attentive to violations committed by Israeli aircraft in Lebanese airspace. He ridiculed claims by Israel Monday that four Israeli soldiers were killed in a car accident near the city of Hadera, saying: “I am responsible for what I say and I assure you that these soldiers were killed during the attacks on the Shebaa Farms.”
Nasrallah said the resistance would continue to “work despite the pressure,” adding that it was wrong to accuse his party of taking the region toward an unknown fate. “It is Sharon and (US President George W.) Bush who have to be asked: ‘Where are you taking the region?’”
He repeated several times that Washington “is a full accomplice with Israel in its current aggression. The Israeli campaign … received a green light from the (United States), because there is American-Israeli agreement on that.”
He said Bush’s request in which he asked Israel to pull out of the West Bank towns it occupied was “a tactic that might be related to some Arab rulers who are scared of losing their thrones due to their people’s anger.” “If the Americans really want the Israelis to withdraw, wouldn’t they do that?” he added.
Hizbullah leader said Sharon’s disagreement with Bush would “lead the region to an unknown fate since both of them are crazy.”Criticizing Bush for having said he respected Sharon, Nasrallah said: “We did not see, however, that he respected the Arab people who poured into streets” in protest. “They regard (this war) as part of the war on terror,” he said, referring to the campaign launched by the US following the Sept. 11 attacks.
Earlier, according to the Lebanese Daily Star, Nasrallah met with UNIFIL’s commander, Major General Mohan Lalit Tewari, in Beirut. The meeting came days after four UN observers were badly beaten by Hizbullah members near the Shebaa Farms. (Albawaba.com)
© 2002 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
