Threatening the peace

Hezbollah guerrillas, Israelis clash in test of week-old cease-fire; UN's Kofi Annan says Israel violated truce

BY MOHAMAD BAZZI | Newsday Middle East Correspondent

August 20, 2006

BEIRUT, Lebanon - The nearly week-old cease-fire between Israel and Hezbollah was seriously tested for the first time yesterday, when Israeli commandos carried out a raid deep inside Lebanese territory and fought with Hezbollah guerrillas for an hour.

Lebanese leaders called the raid a "flagrant violation" of the cease-fire. Late yesterday, Secretary-General Kofi Annan said the truce had been violated, according to his spokesman. Defense Minister Elias Murr had threatened to stop the deployment of 15,000 Lebanese troops in the country's south if the UN did not condemn Israel's action. If Lebanon follows through on that threat, Israel likely would stop withdrawing its forces from the south and the cease-fire would be in jeopardy.

Israeli officials said the raid near the city of Baalbek was intended to disrupt arms shipments to Hezbollah from its two allies, Iran and Syria. "The UN Security Council resolution on Lebanon is very explicit: It says that Hezbollah cannot use the cease-fire to rearm," Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Mark Regev told reporters in Jerusalem. "That was happening, and Israel acted to prevent that from happening."

Murr argued Israel was trying to provoke a response from Hezbollah so Israel could have an excuse to attack the Lebanese army in the south. "We will not send the army to be prey in an Israeli trap," Murr said.

The cease-fire, which took effect on Monday, ended 34 days of fighting. Under the UN resolution, Israel is allowed to conduct defensive military operations. But the raid took place 60 miles from the Israeli border, and far from Israeli positions in south Lebanon.

Hezbollah officials said the Israeli commandos were dropped in by helicopters along with two jeeps near Baalbek before dawn. They drove to a town called Bouday. When Hezbollah guerrillas stopped them in a field, the Israelis identified themselves as members of the Lebanese army. But Hezbollah officials said their fighters became suspicious of the group's unusual Arabic accents, and a firefight ensued.

The Israeli military said one soldier was killed and two wounded in the raid. Lebanese officials reported three Hezbollah fighters killed and three wounded and said Israeli jets destroyed a bridge near the site where the commandos landed - the first Israeli air strike since the cease-fire.

Lebanese media reported that the Israelis wanted to kill or abduct Sheik Mohammed Yazbek, a senior Hezbollah leader who lives in Bouday. During the war, Israeli forces carried out several raids trying to capture Hezbollah officials who could be used as bargaining chips for the release of two Israeli soldiers abducted by Hezbollah on July 12.

After the UN resolution was approved Aug. 11, some pro-U.S. members of Lebanon's government tried to open a debate about disarming Hezbollah. But the militia was buoyed by its surprising tenacity and ability to inflict heavy casualties on Israeli forces and prevent them from capturing significant territory in the south.

Under the resolution, the current 2,000-member UN peacekeeping force in Lebanon would monitor the cease-fire and eventually expand into a better-armed force with up to 15,000 troops. UN officials said they want 3,500 new troops in Lebanon by Aug. 28 so Israeli forces can complete their withdrawal from the south.

But UN diplomats have had trouble securing enough troops. So far, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Italy, France and Finland have promised to send forces, but they are far short of the 3,500 goal. Potential contributors are worried that the force might not have enough resources or a clear mission, including when it could use firepower.

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Hezbollah guerrillas, Israelis clash in test of week-old cease-fire; UN's Kofi Annan says Israel violated truce

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