 |
Al-Ahram Weekly 3 - 9 June 1999 Issue No. 432 
|
||
Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
| ||
|
Al-Ahram Weekly 3 - 9 June 1999 Issue No. 432
|
||
| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
| ||
Egypt Region International Economy Opinion Culture Profile Interview Travel Sports People Time Out Chronicles Cartoons Letters Pullout preview at Jezzine
By Zeina Khodr
The pullout of the Israeli allied South Lebanon Army (SLA) militia from the southern enclave of Jezzine started on Tuesday. The withdrawal from the 200 square kilometre predominantly Christian-populated region will, according to the head of the militia Antoine Lahd, be completed by mid-June.
A convoy of armoured vehicles of the Israeli-backed South Lebanon Army (SLA) leave the town of Jezzine on Tuesday. The southern Lebanese town was occupied by the SLA for 14 years (photo: AP)
It did not come as a surprise. Militia morale has been damaged by a series of Hizbullah resistance attacks, a wave of defections and an unwillingness by militia officers to accept the command-post of the Jezzine garrison after two commanders were killed in Hizbullah ambushes. "1999 will be the year of the disintegration of the militia," Sheikh Naem Kassem, deputy secretary-general of Hizbullah said. But some observers here believe there is a hidden agenda. "The very fact there is a withdrawal means there is something brewing on the political front," one analyst said.
Lebanon has remained tight-lipped over its security plans following the pullback. It is not clear if the army will fill the "security vacuum" created after the withdrawal as requested by residents of the enclave. "The situation could become explosive if Christians are left to fend for themselves against resistance attacks on former members of the militia or collaborators left behind," the conservative daily An-Nahar said.
Simon Karam, the former ambassador to Washington and a prominent politician hailing from Jezzine, said he feared that if the Lebanese army did not take up position immediately, following the pullout, a resurgence of sectarian violence between Christian and pro-Syrian Muslim guerrillas could take place. This happened at the height of the civil war after Israel's 1984 withdrawal from Mount Lebanon. "The area [of Jezzine] must not be used as a springboard for military operations against other areas in the occupation zone," he said. "A security vacuum in this area would be dangerous for the entire country."
But government officials and Hizbullah have dismissed fears of clashes between Jezzine's Christians and the predominantly Shi'ite Hizbullah. Sayed Hassan Nasrallah, the secretary-general of Hizbullah, vowed his fighters would not enter Jezzine nor use it as a launching pad for attacks. "But Hizbullah will continue to use areas around Jezzine to launch military operations against the occupiers," he said.
His statement came a day after his deputy, Kassem, said attacks will start from Jezzine. "Our mode of operations is not limited by area or parameters," he said. "Hizbullah could enter Jezzine if it chose to. There is no meaning to the argument that we should not enter Jezzine because we do not represent the political and military authorities in Lebanon." An informed Lebanese source told the Weekly that the change in Hizbullah's position might have been the result of pressure. "It seems the US is trying to broker a deal on Jezzine," the source said, "and the government may be pressing Hizbullah to avoid attacks from the area for the time being."
The Lebanese government has always insisted on a complete and unconditional pullout by Israeli forces from south Lebanon in line with UN Resolution 425. A phased withdrawal was out of the question. Lebanon coordinates its peace moves with Syria -- the main power broker here -- and any solution would have to be coupled with an Israeli withdrawal from the Golan Heights. The Lebanese government has not clarified its intentions because any moves on its part might be interpreted as giving in to Israeli demands for security guarantees. Information Minister Anwar Khalil told reporters after a cabinet meeting on Monday that "the government is capable of protecting the safety of Jezzine residents. Let the SLA withdraw and we will see".
The Lebanese army maintains 280 soldiers in Jezzine but they are confined to barracks. The state has civil servants and policemen there but according to reports the government may have decided to entrust Jezzine's security to the forces already deployed there without dispatching government troops. Diplomatic sources were quoted as saying that Internal Security Forces would probably be deployed in the enclave.
Lahd, for his part, expressed doubt that the state was willing to extend its authority in Jezzine but he warned the resistance from deploying or infiltrating the region. "If it does, the Israeli army will be forced to conduct bombardments which would force the remaining population to leave," he said. Some 70 SLA militiamen have decided to stay in the town and risk their fate with the Lebanese authorities. Collaboration with the "enemy" is punishable by death under Lebanese law.
The Israeli daily Haaretz said "a withdrawal from Jezzine would test Lebanon's willingness to deploy its own army in the zone and prevent it from being used by Hizbullah as a staging ground for attacks on the occupation zone. The exercise could amount to a warm-up for a fuller Israeli withdrawal".
Officially the Israeli army said the decision to quit Jezzine was taken by the militia alone but a close aide of newly-elected Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak said the retreat could be the first step in a wider withdrawal. The Labour leader said during his election campaign that he planned to pull out all Israeli occupation troops from south Lebanon in one year. The withdrawal from Jezzine might be a test of this resolve.
