Eilon, July 21, 2004

Hello friends

On Monday Ghaleb Allawi, a high ranking official of Hezbollah was assassinated when his car exploded in southern Beirut. An unknown group, Janud al-Sham [Soldiers of Damascus], a radical Sunni faction, immediately took responsibility for the murder. Hezbollah was not buying it and at least publicly accused Israel of being  behind thekilling. Of course, it just may have been a radical Sunni group, and it just might be that whoever attacks Hezbollah can remain blameless, since everyone knows, and everyone wants to believe that it is Israel, interested in destabilizing Lebanon.

This is what I can tell you of Allawi's demise. Allawi was very much engaged in Hezbollah assistance to the Palestinian Islamic groups that are fighting Israel, and as such the Israelis may have had a specific interest in eradicating him. Hezbollah figures tend to reside within a specific area of Beirut where their security can best be provided for. Hezbollah is worried that Israeli intelligence is such that they could pinpoint the location of Hezbollah figures and initiate a liquidation policy similar to that the Israelis have employed within the Palestinian territories. This is very unnerving for the Hezbollah leadership.

Within Israel the reported death of Ghaleb Allawi by the Janud al-Sham was reported as it appeared over the wire. There was no speculation that Allawi's undoing was caused by Israelis or Lebanese allies. Hezbollah often searches for pretexts for increasing tension along the border and Israeli army units were put on alert.

Despite this, as the following article mentions, two soldiers from the signal corp visited the Israeli installation near Za'arit and without informing the local CO of their presence, proceeded to climb an antenna that is visible for a considerable distance. They apparently were engaged in routine inspection or maintenance of the aerial. They either were unaware of the standing alert, or no-one bothered to tell them. They wore no body armor or helmets. They were both killed by sniper fire from the former abandoned Israeli hilltop fortification known as Karkom, located on Jebel Blat in Lebanon. The outpost [I once spent time there in reserves] is 250 meters away and overlooks Zarit and the surroundings. I also learned that just as the troops had climbed up the antenna without any prior knowledge by the CO, some time passed after the incident before their bodies were discovered. -Barry

Hezbollah kills two soldiers; large-scale response unlikely

By Haaretz Staff

Two soldiers repairing an antenna on the roof of a fort on the Lebanese border were killed yesterday by a Hezbollah sharpshooter. The attack came as the army was placed on high alert following the death of a top Hezbollah official in a car bombing in Beirut on Monday.  The two soldiers - Sergeant Itai Iluz, 21, of Afula, and First Sergeant Avishai Kuriski, 24, of Upper Nazareth - were communications technicians sent to make the repairs on the roof, without flak jackets.

The army will investigate why the two were allowed to operate in the open on the roof of the Nurit fort, not far from Moshav Zarit, when army orders along the entire border were to avoid giving the Lebanese guerrilla group any target to attack.

While the IDF is not expected to launch a large-scale response to the soldiers' deaths, it did respond immediately after yesterday's shooting.

Shots were fired from the air and tanks, and Israel Air Force jets set off sonic booms over Beirut, a reminder of the Lebanese capital's vulnerability and a warning to the Beirut government to take action against the Hezbollah. The tank fire hit the position from where the snipers fired, apparently killing one Hezbollah gunman.

Helicopters struck a Hezbollah position in south Lebanon, a former Israeli position taken over by the Lebanese group, and reports said that another three Hezbollah gunmen were wounded.

The Lebanese government filed an official complaint to the United Nations Security Council, sources in Beirut's Foreign Ministry told Reuters.

Hezbollah responded to the Israeli return of fire by firing anti-aircraft shells at Israeli territory. Several fragments hit a northern Galilee moshav, causing a fire.

The Hezbollah said the skirmish began when Israeli forces shelled its positions near the town of Eita al-Shaab.

But Israel insists Hezbollah had started the fighting, and that the army would continue to operate against any party "involved in terrorism against Israeli citizens."

Prime Minister Ariel Sharon gave the order yesterday to keep the incident "local," meaning not to undertake a major operation against Hezbollah, Lebanese or Syrian targets in retaliation.

Northern Command Maj. Gen. Benny Gantz said that the the alert would remain in effect for as long as the IDF perceived a Hezbollah threat.

"We'll continue keeping our eyes on the events in the coming hours and days and do everything we can not to disturb the residents of the area." But he added that "there is a significant threat emerging here that is creating an explosive situation that could explode."

Gantz blamed Syria and Iran for the tension, as the patrons for the Hezbollah. But the assessment in Jerusalem was that the incident was over, at least for now. Israel is hardly interested in an escalation, and neither is Hezbollah.

The incident occurred the same week that Brig. Gen. Yossi Kuperwasser told the Knesset Foreign Affairs Committee that Iran might provide Hezbollah with weapons of mass destruction, after providing them with thousands of rockets that can hit all of northern Israel.

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