Israel Plays Down Lebanon Problems

Israel played down prospects of war with Syria after Israeli warplanes struck a Syrian anti-aircraft post in Lebanon on Sunday in retaliation for an attack by Lebanese Hezbollah guerrillas on Israeli soldiers.

"No, no, no," Israeli Defense Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer, shaking his head, told reporters who asked about chances of wider conflict with Syria.

"Thank God we are surrounded by countries that if they have anything in common, it is not to lead the Middle East into war," he said. "I am sure it is not in Syria's interests to do that."

Reuters

Syrian soldiers in the Bekaa Valley

The Syrian-backed Hezbollah movement responded by firing at Israeli positions on the Lebanon border, in the disputed Shebaa Farms area. Israeli artillery in turn shelled the Lebanese border town of Kfar Shouba, wounding at least one person.

The U.S. State Department on Sunday called for restraint from all sides after Israeli warplanes attacked a Syrian anti-aircraft position in eastern Lebanon earlier in the day.

"We have been in touch with all the parties, urging all sides to exercise maximum restraint and we want all parties to avoid provocative actions," said a State Department official, speaking on condition of anonymity.

The cycle of violence began on Friday when Hezbollah guerrillas fired anti-tank missiles at two Israeli frontier posts, wounding a soldier. Israel said Syria, the main powerbroker in Lebanon, gave Hezbollah the green light to attack.

The United Nations, which certified that Israel had ended its 22-year-long occupation of south Lebanon, says the Shebaa Farms region is Syrian land captured by Israel in 1967.

Israeli warplanes last hit the Syrian army in Lebanon in April, when they struck a radar station, killing three soldiers, after a Hezbollah attack at Shebaa killed an Israeli soldier.

"The Israeli government determines that the criminal activities of the Hezbollah are taking place with the knowldge and backing of Syria," Israel's security cabinet said.

The latest violence flared as the fate of a U.S.-led plan for ending nine months of Israeli-Palestinian bloodshed in which nearly 600 people have been killed, hung in the balance.

U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell wrapped up a Middle East trip on Friday by clinching agreement on a week-long test period for a truce brokered by U.S. CIA Director George Tenet on June 13. But violence has simmered despite the cease-fire.

In an exchange of fire early on Sunday, Israeli soldiers killed two Palestinians who were planting roadside bombs near an military base in the West Bank, the army said.

Palestinian officials said one of the men was a member of the militant Islamic group Hamas's military wing and the other was an officer in the Palestinian police forces.

Palestinian hospital officials in the Gaza Strip reported a 15-year-old youth died of wounds sustained in stone-throwing clashes with Israeli troops on Friday.

Asked about the death, an Israeli military spokesman said the shooting occurred after dozens of Palestinian youths threw rocks and hand grenades at soldiers at the Karni commercial crossing between Israel and Gaza.

Eleven Palestinians and seven Israelis have been killed since the tenuous truce took effect.

In the latest in a spate of West Bank shootings, Palestinian gunmen shot and wounded an Israeli Arab truck driver who was delivering food to Jewish settlements.

If calm holds for the seven-day period agreed with Powell, a peace plan crafted by former U.S. Senator George Mitchell will go into effect.

It calls for a longer cooling-off period, followed by confidence-building measures — such as a halt to construction at Jewish settlements — leading to a resumption of peace talks.

But even before Powell left the region on Friday, the sides began arguing over when the test period began.

Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres, who met Palestinian President Yasser Arafat in Lisbon on Friday, told Army Radio the United States had agreed it was up to Israel to decide when things were calm enough for the Mitchell plan to take effect.

"We want to bring real calm on the ground," Peres said.

Arafat said in Gaza the seven-day countdown started on Wednesday. Palestinian cabinet minister Yasser Abed Rabbo said it began on Friday.

The Israeli army said Palestinians opened fire and lobbed five anti-tank grenades and 11 hand grenades at military posts near the Gaza-Egypt border overnight. No one was hurt.

Peres and Arafat publicly shook hands at a Lisbon conference on Saturday after meeting for the first time since right-wing Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon came to power in February.

Peres shrugged off criticism at home of the meeting, telling Israel Radio "there should be a supreme and fearless effort" to stop the killing.

Arafat reportedly told Peres on Friday that his Palestinian Authority was trying to halt the violence, but its tsk would be made easier if Israel improved Palestinians' living conditions, for example by lifting blockades on their towns and villages.

Israel cites security reasons for the blockade which it says is to prevent Palestinians from carrying out attacks. But Palestinians say it is collective punishment.

At least 469 Palestinians, 119 Israelis and 13 Israeli Arabs have been killed since Palestinians began their uprising against Israeli occupation after peace talks became deadlocked.

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