Civil War Looms at Israel's Northern Border
by Hana Levi Julian
With Hamas running Gaza on Israel's south-west border, Fatah
attempting to take over Judea and Samaria in eastern Israel, Iranian-
backed Hizbullah terrorists and allied pro-Syrian forces are fighting
the Lebanese army - and have taken over parts of Beirut.
Lebanon has been without a president since November, when the pro-
Syrian minority, which includes several Hizbullah ministers, demanded
more representation in the Cabinet. The Western-backed government
coalition has been struggling for months with the Hizbullah terrorist-
led faction to retain control of the country while=A0other Arab nations
are eyeing the situation with increasing concern.
State-Run TV, Beirut Under Hizbullah Control
The Iranian and Syrian-backed terrorist organization seized large
parts of the Lebanese capital and yanked the state-run Future News
television station, owned by coalition leader Sa=92ad al-Hariri, off the
air.=A0
=93An army officer accompanied by members of Hizbullah walked into the
station and told us to switch off transmission. We are off the air,=94
said a senior station official quoted by Reuters News Agency.=A0
Royal Jordanian Airlines suspended flights to the embattled nation,
joining Middle East Airlines, the Lebanese national carrier, in ending
traffic in and out of Beirut indefinitely. Anti-Syrian leaders have
charged that Hizbullah last week set up surveillance cameras on
approaches the air****t to spy on government officials.
Saudi Arabia called for a meeting of Arab leaders on the situation as
the death toll mounted. Security sources said at least 10 people were
dead, including a mother and her son, and 20 others were wounded as
fighting continued Friday for the third day in a row.
Terrified civilians stayed indoors as Hizbullah guerrillas fired
assault rifles, rocket-propelled grenades (RPGs) and heavy machine
guns at government forces. Plumes of heavy smoke rose from cars and
shops in several mixed Sunni and ****ite districts in the capital where
some of the heaviest fighting took place.
Nasrallah Warns Against Disarming Hizbullah
Hizbullah chief terrorist Hassan Nasrallah claimed the Lebanese
government had declared war by outlawing its telecommunications
network, which it called =93the most im****tant part of the weapons of
the resistance.=94
The government deemed the independent Hizbullah land lines and private
communications system a threat to national security. After a marathon
11-hour meeting that stretched from Monday night into Tuesday morning,
the Cabinet also decided to fire air****t security chief Brig.-Gen.
Wafiq Shoukair for alleged ties to the terrorist group, further
enraging Hizbullah. It also said Hizbullah has been flying weapons
from Iran on a routine basis.
=93The decision is tantamount to a declaration of war=85 on the resistance
and its weapons, in the interest of America and Israel,=94 Nasrallah
said, adding that he himself was =93not declaring war,=94 but was
=93declaring a decision of self-defense.
=93Those who try to arrest us, we will arrest them. Those who shoot at
us, we will shoot at them. The hand raised against us, we will cut it
off,=94 warned Nasrallah in a speech broadcast live on TV Thursday by a
videolink hookup from a secret hideout. Nasrallah almost never appears
in public due to his fears of assassination by Israeli operatives.
Hizbullah Cut Off Air****t, Ties to Outside World
The fighting began Wednesday when Hizbullah sup****ters blocked Beirut
streets on Wednesday with burning barricades, paralyzing the capital.
Activists claimed they were enforcing a national strike, forcing a
showdown in the ongoing government crisis.
Rioters torched vehicles, smashed windows and blocked the main road to
Beirut International Air****t, the nation=92s only air link to the
outside world. Most main arteries in and out of the capital were cut
off and by the end of the day the border with Syria had been shut down
as well.
Government officials warned the economy would crash within days due to
the inevitable drop in tourism if the situation is not resolved.
|
