22 January 2005

BEIRUT: Israel has threatened "unlimited" military retaliation against Lebanon if Hizbullah attacks into the Shebaa Farms continue. Israel's powerful Security Cabinet, which includes senior members of the Israeli government including Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, warned it will order the army to take "serious military action" in Lebanon if Hizbullah attacks continued.

Following the meeting, an Israeli official, who declined to be identified, said: "The military has no limitation to act if the situation deteriorates further." Lebanon's Defense Minister Abdel Rahim Mrad was unavailable for comment. The warning comes at the same time as UN secretary general Kofi Annan issued a report which blamed Hizbullah for the increased tension along the southern border, but also warned Israel against its current policy of allowing military aircraft to fly over Lebanon. Annan's report comes in the wake two separate  attacks launched by the resistance group into the Shebaa Farms in the last fortnight which led to the death of a UN peacekeeper. Presenting his report to the UN security council, Annan said: "The resumption of military measures, for which Hizbullah took credit, asserting its claimed prerogative to resist Israeli occupation of Lebanese territory by force, is disturbing."

But he added: "If Israel carries on with its policy of flying over Lebanon whenever it sees fit, it risks provoking retaliatory acts from the Lebanese side."

He added he was "greatly troubled by the disregard shown for the safety and security of the unarmed UN military observers." Annan recommended that the mandate of the UN Interim Forces in Lebanon (UNIFIL), which monitors all military activity on the border between Lebanon and Israel, be extended for six month, until July 31. Commenting on Israel's warning, Tyre MP Abdullah Qassir, who is also a member of Hizbullah Loyalty to the Resistance parliamentary bloc, said: "This is not the first time Israel has threatened Lebanon with

military actions." He added: "As long as there are Lebanese territories under occupation, we will keep up our struggle. We are not intimidated by Israeli threats."

Commenting on Annan's report, Qassir said: "If the UN is really concerned about the situation in the area, and fears a possible escalation on the borders, it should call for a full Israeli withdrawal from Leban-ese territories." Qassir added that despite mounting pressure from the UN, most notably in the shape of Resolution 1559, which among other things calls for disarming Hizbullah, the party respected UNIFIL' s presence along the borders.

He said: "We have a very positive relationship with UNIFIL officers." He added: "Israel is crossing all the red lines in its behavior in south Lebanon and its constant aggressions do not even spare members of the UN. The UN usually yields to Israeli pressure, and holds Hizbullah responsible for Israeli mistakes."