Democratic Palestine : 22 (ص 17)
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- عنوان
- Democratic Palestine : 22 (ص 17)
- المحتوى
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Zionist Aggression on Lebanon
In late January, US officials declared
readiness to undertake air strikes in
Lebanon in the event hostages were’
killed. While such statements clearly
‘aim to divert public attention away
from the ‘Irangate/contras’ fiasco,
they must also be taken seriously in
view of the Reagan Administration’s
record of aggression in the Middle East
and elsewhere. In reality, this threat
may be the result of the mid-January
visit to Lebanon of April Glasby, chief
of the State Department’s Lebanon,
Syria and Jordan desk. The reported
‘motivation of her trip was US concern
about the increase of Palestinian armed
presence in Lebanon.
Already the US Sixth Fleet, led by the
nuclear-powered aircraft carrier
Nimitz, had been moved closer to
Lebanon’s shores after having staged
the biggest military maneuvers in the
‘Mediterranean for over a year. Then,
on February 2nd, Israeli radio quoted
Prime Minister Shamir as saying that
‘Israel’ would consider helping the US
in a military operation in Lebanon if
asked. These imperialist-Zionist threats
give an even more serious dimension to
the ongoing Israeli aggression against
Lebanon, which is the main subject of
this article.
Despite the recurring camp wars and
friction in the nationalist ranks, ongo-
ing events reaffirm that the basic con-
tradiction ruling developments in
Lebanon is that between the US- sup-
ported Israeli occupiers and _ the
patriotic masses. This is seen in the
escalation of Israeli air raids, the naval
blockade of the Lebanese coast and
ongoing terror attacks against southern
villages. From the other side, it is seen
in the continuing attacks of the
Lebanese National Resistance Front
against the occupiers and their lackeys,
Lahd’s South Lebanese Army (SLA).
AAIR—AND—SEA WAR
Even before the turn of the year, the
Zionist leadership had ordered an
escalation of overt aggression against
Lebanon. In 1986, the Israeli forces
staged a total of 19 bombing raids on
Lebanese territory, 18 of them aimed
against Palestinian targets. According
to Lebanon’s UN representative, these
air raids caused 35 deaths, 130 injuries
and extensive material damage. To this
must be added the scores of people in
South Lebanon who have been killed or
injured by the shelling and thuggery of
the Israeli-SLA forces.
All this is a continuation of the
historical Zionist policy of aggression
against Lebanon. At the same time, it
has specific reasons, related to current
developments in Lebanon. In _par-
ticular, the Zionists are disturbed by the
reassertation of the Palestinian revolu-
tion’s strength as seen in the heroic
defense of the camps against Amal’s
attacks. The Israelis are also plagued by
the continuing attacks of Palestinian
and Lebanese patriots against their
forces and proxies in South Lebanon.
For a time, the Israelis gloated over
the camp war, hoping that the Amal
movement would succeed in disarming
the Palestinians and at the same time
devoid itself of any nationalist role. An
article in the International Herald
Tribune of November 1-2, 1986, quoted
a senior Israeli military source as say-
ing, «The security zone is quiet,
because the Lebanese and Palestinians
are all involved in killing each other.»
At first this relieved the pressure on the
Israelis caused by the upsurge of at-
tacks on the ‘ security zone’ in August-
September last year. However, the
author of the article quoted above,
Thomas L. Friedman, reporting from
Jerusalem, noted: «On the other hand,
Israeli officials say they were deeply
concerned by the relatively poor show-
ing that the Shiite Amal militia has
made on the battlefield against the
Palestinians.»
On the background of this concern,
six of the 19 Israeli air raids in 1986
were staged against Palestinian posi-
tions in November alone, as the
Palestinians successfully staged the
Maghdousheh operation to defend the
refugee camps. Israeli pursuance of the
Palestinians reached to North Lebanon
on December 11, 1986, with an air
strike against Nahr Al Bared refugee
camp, that killed some 15 people and
wounded 22, mostly civilians and in-
cluding Lebanese citizens. Some of the
civilian deaths were caused by a delayed
action rocket that cruelly exploded
after the initial attack. In January,
Israeli fighter bombers struck three
times in Lebanon. On January 9th,
Palestinian positions east of Sidon were
bombed, killing three and wounding
seven. The same area was targeted on
January 12th, resulting in three deaths
and thirteen injuries. On the next day,
an Israeli air strike hit areas in the
Bekaa Valley. On January 19th, Israeli
gunboats shelled Palestinian positions
east of Saida, wounding four.
Meanwhile, the Israeli forces impos-
ed a naval blockade on the Lebanese
coast, from the North to Tyre, in-
tercepting ships going and coming.
Numerous Cypriot ferries were turned
back before docking in Lebanon. A
Lebanese cargo ship was diverted to
‘Israel’. The captain and crew were held
for an extended period without ex-
planation. Above official Cypriot pro-
tests, Israeli Chief of Staff General
Moshe Levi arrogantly declared, «We
told ship captains we would stop their
line if they don’t stop transporting ter-
rorists...»
FOCUS ON THE SOUTH—
RESURGENCE OF
RESISTANCE
A series of daring anti-occupation
operations, starting in the last days of
1986, jolted the SLA and their Israeli
backers. On January 7th, Israeli radio
reported that 13 SLA militiamen had
been killed in a week. The real count is
probably much higher as is confirmed
by examining the single operations.
Eight SLA men were killed and 17 in-
jured on one day alone, when Lebanese
patriots attacked SLA posts at Barachit
and Beit Yahoun, north of Bint Jbail,
in the central part of the occupied
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