Pro-Israeli fighters defect as fighting rages ahead of Lebanon withdrawal

Zeina Karam

Sunday, May 21, 2000 | 3:02 a.m.

BEIRUT, Lebanon - Forty-six Israeli-backed militiamen defected to the Lebanese Sunday, leaving three crucial outposts unprotected in southern Lebanon that would allow guerrillas to reach the Israeli border, militia officials said.

The defections came as Iranian-backed Muslim Hezbollah guerrillas relentlessly attacked Israeli forces, who are pulling out of south Lebanon to end a 22-year military presence. One Israeli soldier was wounded in the attacks by Hezbollah, which has fought the Israeli occupation for years.

The defections by members of the South Lebanon Army militia are the first on such a large scale. They took place from outposts near the villages of Qantara, Taibeh and Deir Sirian, which had earlier been vacated by retreating SLA fighters, SLA officials said.

They said the SLA men descended from their outposts and joined hundreds of Lebanese families who had returned to their deserted homes in the three villages, almost 20 years after they left during the Israeli invasion. People also returned to inspect their empty homes in three more villages.

The SLA has vowed to continue controlling the occupied zone after the Israelis leave Lebanon, but observers doubt the militia alone would be a match for the guerrillas whose relentless attacks helped force Israel out. A number of SLA militiamen have defected in recent days following calls by the Hezbollah for them to do so.

In Jerusalem, Israeli military officials said that when a mass of people tried to approach their homes in Taibeh, SLA fighters abandoned their station, leaving behind a tank and two armored personnel carriers. The officials said the post was taken over by Hezbollah members, but that could not be independently confirmed.

Taibeh is only 2 miles from the Israeli border. Israel's Channel Two television showed an Israeli helicopter firing on the outpost and reported that a tank returned fire.

Some SLA militiamen remained in Markaba, less than a quarter mile from Taibeh. If the SLA abandons Markaba, the guerrillas will not only be at Israel's doorstep but will also succeed in bisecting the occupied zone. The road linking the eastern and western sectors of the occupied zone runs through Markaba.

A statement from Lebanese Prime Minister Salim Hoss' office welcomed the "return of the villages to the nation's fold." It made no reference to the defections.

In Sunday's fighting, Hezbollah fired at least 20 Katyusha rockets, two of which hit an SLA outpost in Ahmadieh. The Hezbollah also claimed it attacked a string of SLA positions, Lebanese security officials said.

The Hezbollah said in a statement that its fighters fired mortars at the Israeli Ramieh outpost near the border. A statement issued by the Israeli military in Jerusalem said one soldier was wounded. The army "views with severity the terrorist fire into Israel," it said.

Israel and SLA retaliated with artillery and air raids.

Israel invaded Lebanon in 1978 and created a security zone in the occupied area in 1985 to protect northern Israeli towns from guerrilla attacks. It is now withdrawing as part of an election pledge by Prime Minister Ehud Barak. Israel has said the withdrawal will be completed by July 7.

The Hezbollah said it also attacked an Israeli position at Jabal el-Rouss on the northwestern edge of the disputed Chebaa territory. Israeli state radio said the attack was the first in years.

Sheik Hassan Nasrallah, the chief of Hezbollah, said at a Beirut rally that the attack was related to Lebanon's demand that Israel withdraw from the Chebaa farmland at the foot of Mount Hermon as part of its ongoing pullout. Israel has said Chebaa will not be included in the withdrawal because the area was captured from Syria during the 1967 Mideast War.