Israel's Iron Fist sows terror in South Lebanon

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Begun in 1982, the Israeli war in Lebanon still rages. Intended to last only 48 hours, the invasion and later occupation of Lebanon has left thousands of innocent people massacred by the occupying Israeli army. Entire villages have been burned With this story, Ralph Schoenman begins a three-part series on the Middle East today. Schoenman is presently the director of the Committee in Defense of the Palestinian and Lebanese People. He is the former executive director of the Bertrand Shortly after this story was written, the Israeli army gave further evidence of the brutality of its occupation of Southern Lebanon. On March 21 it began a series of On March 21 an Israeli tank opened fire on the village of Kfar Melki. It killed 30 On March 22, according to U.N. "peacekeeping" forces, the town of Qlaile and detained 300 residents. Terrified According to the March 23 New York Times, "military [Israeli] analysts say they believe Israel is ready to turn south Lebanon into an empty no man's land if that is The "Iron Fist" policy of the Rabin government described by "is just a velvet glove compared with what Israel is prepared "Iron Fist is just a velvet glove compared to 16 SOCIALIST ACTION APRIL 1985 When Yitzhak Rabin became Shimon Peres' minister of defense in the current "national unity" government, he launched his policy of Egrouf Barzelthe Iron Fist-in Lebanon and the West Bank. Rabin had supported the Likud's policies in Lebanon throughout the war.

The Palestinian refugee camp of Dheisheh outside of Bethlehem became the target of extremist settlers under Rabbi Moshe Levinger. Camping outside of Dheisheh, the "settlers" launched random shootings, beat people in their homes, and launched fire bombs at night.

"There is no difference of opinion" declared Rabin as he toured the West Bank, "over the measures required to ensure law and order."

Rabin shook hands with Levinger and promised "tougher government measures."

The army sealed all entrances and exits to Dheisheh and patrolled it day and night. Random shootings occurred and 35 political activists were arrested. Four were subjected to electric torture in the notorious prisons at Tulkarm and Fara'a.

Among those imprisoned is Hamdi Farraj, former managing editor of A'shira, who has been under house arrest since the magazine was shut down two years ago. Farraj told the military governor of Bethlehem that Dheisheh resembled the ghettos of Eastern Europe. The Governor replied, "You have oxygen. You should be content with that because nothing else will be left to you."

Rabin has imprisoned 1100 West Bank Palestinians since January. The fields of Sakhnin were destroyed as armored vehicles ran through the olive groves, a signal from Yitzhak Rabin to 0 Miles 15 LEBANON SYRIAN BerNto FRONT LINE MOUNTAINS Sera VALLEY er rakelan KHARROUB / REGION Awali R. BEKAA Sdon ó Zahrani ATA PoTere SYRIA Leenx A yrer * Becuntyah GOLAN HEIGHTS ISRAELI ISRAEL OCCUPIED and razed.

Russell Peace Foundation.

raids on occupied Shi'ite Moslem villages.

people, including two Lebanese employees of CBS.

mountains in an attempt to escape the Israelis.

what it takes to make the northern frontier secure. "

Times correspondent.

the Palestinians of the West Bank that he was back at the helm.

Responding to a call from Ministerwithout-Portfolio Yosef Shapiro that the army should be deployed at full strength in the West Bank, Rabin reassured him that his ministry's policies in Judea and Samaria "have not changed."

The Iron Fist, however, is not confined to the West Bank. "Time, Rabin declared, "is working against us in Lebanon. The longer Israel stays there, the more the Shi'ites will hate us."

Shi'ites resist

Rabin has put into effect the "full strength" of the Iron Fist in Lebanon as well. Over 2000 Shi'ite Lebanese are now in the Israeli detention camp in Ansar. Moshe Sharon reported in the what Israel is prepared to do."

Feb. 23 Jerusalem Post that the Shi'ites in Lebanon have always been the most disadvantaged segment of Lebanese society:

"Their rank and file was deliberately kept underdeveloped and uneducated. The central governments devoted hardly any funds to the development of the Shi'ite rural areas, which were ruled and exploited by some five great feudal Shi'ite families-the Shi'ite nobility. These families took their share of the Lebanese national cake, and it was in their interests to keep the Shi'ite masses in ignorance and poverty."

It is this population that has forged the remarkable resistance against the powerful Israeli army in a very confined area all of 10 miles from the Israeli border.

Rabin renewed his theme, vowing that "the iron hand, involving protracted curfews, pre-emptive arrests, and spot searches, would fall on the Lebanese South.

On March 3 The Jerusalem Post reported that Israeli troops were attacking mass demonstrations of women and children. Mosques were demolished. The paper called it an "all-out war" on the civilian population.

Farmers were prevented from reaching their fields and merchants from opening their shops. When raiding troops were resisted in towns like Zrairiya, the army returned at night with 1000 soliders and 200 armored vehicles. On March 11, they went on a rampage gunning down people in the streets at random.

the Israeli army raided villagers fled into the Schoenman below to do," writes the Tanks ran over passenger vehicles, killing the occupants before television cameras that were smuggled in by journalists who evaded the army ban on their presence. Surviving men were detained and most "disappeared."

Yuv al Ne'eman, chairman of the right-wing Tehiya Party, disclosed, amid the repression, the original official plans and called upon the government to abide by them. He demanded that Israel extend its sovereignty over the region and announce as originally intended that Eretz Israel extended to the Litani River. The government, he said, must keep its forces 25 kilometers beyond the river for many years to come.

It was not for lack of planning and desire that the Israeli authorities had to abandon annexation. Ze'ev Schiff, military correspondent for Ha'aretz, reported that when he visited Lebanon after 18 months absence, it was like getting "belted in the face.

It takes the wind out of you, he told his readers, to see the look in people's eyes-both those of the Israeli soldiers and of the populace. It reminded Schiff of the American soldiers he had seen in the final stages of the Vietnam War.

Schiff reported on the profound change in the Israeli army, pointing out what happens when an army's military prowess proves useless. The Lebanese, Schiff reported, look at the occupying forces with unyielding hate. He described the guerrillas in Lebanon as unafraid of attacking the Israeli army units and convoys at close range.

For their part, the Israeli soldiers keep their fingers on the trigger at all times and regard everyone as a potential enemy. And when they withdraw from an area, the Israelis leave a trail of terrOr.

Upon departing Sidon, for example, the Israeli army blew up a five-story apartment building where a meeting. was taking place between Sunni leader Mustafa Sa'ad and the leaders of Shi'ite and Christian communities. The intention was to facilitate the entry of the Lebanese Army of Amin Gemayel, enabling it to take control from the popular militia as the Israelis withdrew. The plan backfired.

The blinding of Mustafa Sa'ad and the murder of his young daughter during the bomb blast resulted in a general strike throughout the South. Gemayel met so vast a popular upsurge in Sidon that he felt compelled to call for armed resistance to Israeli occupation throughout the South.

Israel sought to ascribe this to Syrian pressure. Syria, however, was not pushing Gemayel to support armed and popular resistance in Lebanon. Gemayel was tacking his sail to the wind of the mass upsurge of resistance to the Israeli occupation.

This was confirmed by Pierre Yazbeck of the Phalange Lebanese Forces, who declared that every day that passed there was less support for the Israeli presence within the Maronite community. Nasser Nasserian of the Christian militia near Sidon acknowledged that the Maronite community had joined in the resistance.

Beginning of the end Israeli commanders increasingly acknowledge that they are confronted by a people's war that has engulfed the entire population of Lebanon. Israeli papers such as Ha'aretz and Yediot Aharanot carried accounts supplementing those of Schiff. Joseph Brilliant, writing in The Jerusalem Post, described Israeli soldiers "happily dismantling their installations" and demanding to go home.

The Israelis have sought to destabilize the Beirut government by unleashing Samir Geagea against Gemayel. A notorious leader of the Phalange militia of Bashir Gemayel, Geagea had participated in the massacres at Tal al Zataar and in Sabra and Shatila on Israeli orders.

He is known throughout Lebanon for the brutal murder of the rival Christian leader Tony Franjieh, his wife, and children. The weakening of Gemayel, however, posed the prospect of the left regaining control of the government in Beirut. The New York Times reported on March 14 that Syrian Vice President Khaddam was attempting to pressure Shi'ite leader Nabih Berri and Druse leader Walid Jumblatt to remain in support of Amin Gemayel.

But all the maneuvers and terror tactics cannot, as The Jerusalem Post wrote in a remarkable account called "The Beginning of the End, slow the process. Commander Zvika is quoted as saying about his men contemplating departure from Lebanon: "I don't remember my guys ever being quite as enthusiastic about anything."

(The second article in this series will deal with the recent "peace overtures" emanating from King Hussein of Jordan, President Hosni Mubarak of Egypt, and Palestine Liberation Organization leader Yasir Arafat. The third and last article will analyze the internal crisis of the Israeli state.)