A threat against militants

Lebanese official warns the country's militias that they will be linked to the enemy if they endanger cease-fire by any attacks on Israel

BY MOHAMAD BAZZI | Newsday Middle East Correspondent

August 21, 2006

BEIRUT, Lebanon - Lebanon's defense minister warned yesterday that anyone who violates a week-old truce by firing rockets at Israel will be tried for treason before a military tribunal.

Elias Murr, the defense minister, said he does not think Hezbollah will breach the cease-fire but hinted that his warning is aimed at other militant groups that might give Israel a pretext to retaliate against Lebanon with overwhelming force. Government sources said Murr's comments were directed at Syrian-backed Palestinian militias who have fired rockets at Israel in the past from southern Lebanon.

"Any rocket that is fired from Lebanese territory will be considered collaboration with Israel," Murr said at a news conference. He added that anyone arrested by the Lebanese army for violating the truce "will be tried by a military tribunal as an agent of the Israeli enemy."

In another challenge to the fragile cease-fire, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said yesterday his government would oppose the deployment of peacekeepers in Lebanon from countries that do not have diplomatic relations with Israel. That decision is likely to complicate efforts by UN officials to recruit up to 15,000 troops for an international force that would help the Lebanese army enforce the cease-fire in south Lebanon.

The truce, which was brokered by the United Nations and took effect last Monday, ended 34 days of fighting between Israel and Hezbollah. Under the UN resolution, Israel is allowed to conduct defensive military operations - and to respond if northern Israel is attacked with rockets. Murr's comments raised concerns that the Lebanese army will not be able to control Palestinian militant groups that operate in refugee camps throughout Lebanon, often with weapons and support from Syria.

"We are worried that rogue Palestinian elements might fire rockets at Israel," said a Lebanese security official who spoke on the condition of anonymity. "The Israelis would then have a pretext to attack and the truce would quickly collapse."

In December, Israel blamed the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General Command - a small Syrian-backed group - for firing three Katyusha rockets on northern Israel. In retaliation, Israeli jets bombed one of the group's bases outside Beirut. That incident put the spotlight on several thousand Palestinian militia members operating inside Lebanon, who were accused by some Lebanese of destabilizing the country at Syria's behest.

As part of the cease-fire, the Lebanese government is deploying 15,000 troops in the south. Lebanon's army has not been active in the south since Israeli troops withdrew in May 2000 after an 18-year occupation and guerrilla war with Hezbollah.

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

But UN diplomats have had trouble securing enough troops and Olmert's announcement yesterday is likely to make it more difficult. Among the few countries that have offered troops so far are Bangladesh, Indonesia and Malaysia - all Muslim-majority nations that do not have diplomatic ties with Israel.

UN officials are asking European countries to offer more troops, but so far they have been reluctant. France, which plans to lead the UN force but pledged only several hundreds of troops, called for a meeting of European Union countries this week to bolster their contributions. "We are asking that Europe express its solidarity toward Lebanon as rapidly as possible," Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy said on French radio yesterday.

Potential contributors are worried that the force might not have enough resources or a clear mission, including when it could use firepower. In an effort to encourage more countries to sign on, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan said Friday the peacekeeping force would not have to "wage war" or try to disarm Hezbollah.

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

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Lebanese official warns the country's militias that they will be linked to the enemy if they endanger cease-fire by any attacks on Israel

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