Democratic Palestine : 4 (ص 31)
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- Democratic Palestine : 4 (ص 31)
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one entering the South from the Beqaa
Valley.
Such measures are choking the
Lebanese economy, but not the anti-
occupation resistance. Military opera-
tions continue to average more than one
daily. During April they escalated in the
Nabatiyeh area in particular and were
initiated in areas under UNIFIL supervi-
sion, where residents have grown tired
of the lack of protection this affords. As
noted in our last issue, attacks on Israeli
troops in southern Beqaa continue to
rise. May 27th witnessed a major attack
on a Zionist patrol near Kamed al Loz.
The Zionists admitted three soldiers kil-
led and two seriously injured, but local
sources estimated that losses were
higher. The area has been blocked off
since, but this did not prevent an Israeli
convoy from hitting a mine on June 3rd.
Students, however, were prevented
from entering Kamed al Loz to attend
school, and food was scarce due to the
blockade. On June 8th, the Zionist
forces encircled and raided Kamed al
Loz, ransacking homes.
Another notable military operation
occured in Shabriha, near Sour, on May
30th, when Lebanese patriots engaged
an Israeli patrol for fifteen minutes and
burned an armored vehicle with soldiers
inside.
Lahad Rejected
The Zionists’ only claim to good
relations with the southerners rests on
the so-called South Lebanon Army,
headed by Antoine Lahad. Yet the April
22nd strike throughout the South, pro-
testing this army’s assuming security
duties, showed how little representative
it is. This army's effectiveness is also
dubious. It numbers about 1,500, as
opposed to the 6,000 envisioned by the
Israelis. Its manpower is 85% Christian
in stark contrast to the overwhelmingly
Shiite population of the South, i.e., it
remains to be the left-overs of Saad
Haddad’s gang beefed up by the
Phalangists. Moreover, the loyalty of
some of its members is questionable.
Recently, a 19 year old told a reporter
that he had joined because the men in
Sour: tires burned in the Days of Rage
his village were given the choice of
enlisting or being expelled from their
home. He confided that he supports the
anti-occupation resistance by turning a
blind eye while on duty. These facts give
credence to reports that the Israelis will
assign 400 of their own men to lead
Lahad’s forces if they should withdraw.
As it is, the South Lebanon Army's pre-
sence and operations are totally linked
to Israeli posts and command. This is
acknowledged by Lahad himself.
Lebanese police tried to intervene when
the South Lebanese Army occupied the
Lebanese Army’s radio station in Jez-
zine and expelled its staff on June Sth.
The South Lebanese Army referred
them to the Israeli liaison office in
Dbayah as being solely responsible for
this matter.
Days of rage
Popular resistance reached a high-
point from June 4th on, as the second
anniversary of the Zionist invasion was
commemorated throughout nationalist
areas and especially in the occupied
South. West Beirut went on strike, and
thousands of Lebanese marched in one
of the largest demonstrations ever seen
in the city.
The Israeli army prepared for the
Days of Rage by cutting off the South
from the rest of the country and refusing
permits to Lebanese wishing to enter.
Patrols were increased, but the
occupiers were unable to prevent strikes
and demonstrations from being held
throughout the South despite encircling
and raiding villages.
Military operations escalated
dramatically. From June 5th to 8th, there
were 12 attacks on the occupiers in the
Nabatiyeh region alone. In these same’
days, it was reported that two Israeli sol-
diers based in this area had deserted.
Each day of this week of rage was
marked by a minimum of three opera-
tions, covering all sectors of the South
and western Beqaa Valley. The pace of
resistance did not slack off, for on June
13th, four Israeli soldiers were wounded
by an explosive charge east of Sour. In
the foregoing 24 hours four attacks had
occurred around Nabatiyeh, causing
Israeli casualties and killing four col-
laborators of the local pro-Israeli militias. @
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