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Al-Ahram Weekly 29 Apr. - 5 May 1999 Issue No. 427 
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Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Al-Ahram Weekly 29 Apr. - 5 May 1999 Issue No. 427
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Egypt Region International Economy Opinion Culture Profile Focus Special Travel Sports People Features Living Time Out Chronicles Cartoons Letters A channel to unwanted talks
By Zeina KhodrWhether or not the Israeli army is admitting it, the southern village of Arnoun has become occupied territory and incorporated into the nine-mile wide occupation zone. Ever since Israeli troops and their local allies descended into the village and sealed it off with barbed wire, life has not been the same for its residents.
They are now forced to acquire permits to leave and return to their village from Israeli-allied militiamen who have been fortifying their position at the entrance to Arnoun.
As Israel consolidates its hold over the village, which they claim was "occupied territory in the first place," Lebanon's prime minister, Selim Al-Hoss, admitted that contacts to end the occupation have made no progress.
"The contacts we made with world powers have not resulted in anything new," Al-Hoss said. "But our position is firm and will not change."
Al-Hoss was trying to calm fears raised by politicians, particularly officials of the Hizbullah movement, over what is being described as an ambiguous and unprecedented statement issued by the five-nation cease-fire monitoring group.
Lebanon had filed a complaint with the group -- tasked with observing a truce understanding in south Lebanon -- over the village's annexation. While it failed to apportion blame due to "differing views on whether this action fell within the mandate of the understanding," the group called for "concrete steps to restore the status quo in the village prior to 15 April."
"The issue should be examined on an urgent basis, both by the parties and in bilateral channels with a view to addressing the legitimate concerns of the parties," the group said in a statement.
MP Mohamed Raad, the head of Hizbullah's political bureau, criticised the Lebanese delegate in the group for accepting such a statement because "it hints that channels will be opened on the issue of Arnoun as requested by the enemy."
But the authorities quickly denied that the bilateral channels mentioned meant that direct contacts between Israel and Lebanon would be established. "Plans to force Lebanon into accepting any form of contact with the Zionist enemy are doomed to failure," President Emile Lahoud said. "Lebanon remains firmly committed to its position. It will not negotiate directly with Israel over the village of Arnoun. Neither Arnoun nor any other inch of occupied territory will be turned into a buffer for protecting the occupiers."
The monitoring group charged its French and US representatives with making the needed contacts with Lebanon and Israel to resolve the issue.
Lebanese government sources were also quoted as saying that Lebanon informed the United States and France that it would not be "blackmailed into security talks with Israel in exchange for a pullout from Arnoun."
However, that is precisely the reason why the Israelis took Arnoun for the second time. They are demanding the Lebanese army be deployed in the village to ward off resistance attacks. But Beirut rejected this, saying it will not be "a guard for an occupation force".
"Since Lebanon has been refusing to discuss security guarantees, Israel thought why not force them to do so," Michael Young, a political analyst said. "The only way that this can be done, Israel and the United States believe, is to give the monitoring group the mandate to discuss step-by-step withdrawals."
Lebanon, in an apparent bid to rule out security negotiations, reaffirmed its refusal to amend the cease-fire understanding and widen the scope of the group's responsibilities. "Lebanon and Syria are afraid," Young explained. "If the group negotiates a limited withdrawal from Arnoun, then why not from Jezzine, for example."
But observers are noting that unless this happens, Arnoun will remain occupied territory. "For as long as the Lebanese and Syrians oppose the transformation of the group into a forum for negotiations, Israel will be able to incorporate more south Lebanon land with American acquiescence," Young warned.
Lebanon and its patron Syria have repeatedly said Israel should withdraw from Lebanese territories unconditionally in line with UN Resolution 425.
Lebanese government sources said that Lebanon's acceptance in principle that Arnoun should not have been used as a launching pad for military attacks against Israeli troops and their local allies was in compliance with Beirut's observance of the understanding, which rules out attacks from civilian areas.
