War (of Words) with Syria
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Friday, May 23, 2003
Lebanese army to be redeployed along Lebanese-Israeli border
Jerusalem Post -- May 22
By THE JERUSALEM POST INTERNET STAFF
Lebanese leading newspaper Annahar reported today that 5000 Syrian soldiers will withdraw from Lebanon in the near future. Lebanese President Emile Lahoud announced the move during his meeting with Maronite Patriarch Nasrallah Sfeir in the presidential residency in Ba'abda suburb of Beirut.
An article about the meeting in Annahar stated that Lahoud also told the Patriarch that a new Lebanese Army Battalion will be soon sent to south Lebanon.
Israel radio reported that Hizballah issued a statement saying that the Lebanese Army will not be allowed to control the Lebanese-Israeli border and protect "settlers" in northern Israel.
Hezbollah fires on Israeli warplanes violating Lebanon airspace
AFP via Space War -- May 22
TYRE, Lebanon --
The radical Shiite Muslim Hezbollah movement said Thursday it had opened fire with anti-aircraft guns from southern Lebanon on Israeli warplanes overflying the area.
Syria, Hours Late, Backs Ending UN Iraq Sanctions
Reuters -- May 22
Syria, Hours Late, Backs Ending UN Iraq Sanctions
By Irwin Arieff
UNITED NATIONS - Syria, the U.N. Security Council's only Arab member, left its seat empty on Thursday as the council overwhelmingly adopted a U.S.-drafted resolution ending sanctions on Iraq but later said it would have voted "Yes."
UPI article linked also ...
Syria instructs pro-Iraq vote
UPI -- May 22
By Thanaa Imam
DAMASCUS -- Syria said Thursday it instructed its delegate at the U.N. Security Council to record a "yes" vote for the resolution to end sanctions in Iraq, several hours after the 15-member panel unanimously endorsed the coalition-sponsored motion without the Arab state.
[I caught this story at the Jerusalem Post web site, but don't have an account set up there.]
Israel claims to intercept Palestinian arms shipment at sea
Al Bawaba -- May 22
22-05-2003, 14:04
Israeli naval commandos intercepted on Wednesday a fishing boat, dubbed "Abu Hassan", loaded with weapons directed from Lebanon to Palestinian fighters. The boat was seized some 160 kilometers off the northern Israeli coast, Israeli military sources claimed Thursday, according to Israel Radio.
Five more articles linked ...
Israel 'seizes Hezbollah boat'
BBC -- May 22
The Israelis say they have seized a ship carrying weapons for Lebanese militant group Hezbollah.
The raid took place on Wednesday in international waters off the Lebanese and Israeli coast, it is reported.
Nine people are said to have been arrested, including a member of Hezbollah, and the boat was towed back to the Israeli port of Haifa.
Israeli Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom said the arms were being transported from Lebanon to Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip.
He added that the incident showed that Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat was behind terror operations.
"There is no doubt that those involved in the affair are very close to Arafat," he told Israeli television.
"This is not the first time."
Last year, Israel intercepted a 50-tonne shipment of Iranian weapons, which was destined for Palestinian militants, in the Red Sea.
Israeli sources say the current cache is much smaller than that.
Hezbollah officials in Beirut declined to comment.
Israeli navy intercepts suspicious vessel
AP via Helena Independent Record -- May 22
TEL AVIV, Israel - The Israeli military said Thursday it intercepted a suspicious vessel in the Mediterranean, west of its port city of Haifa, and media reports said a member of the Lebanese guerrilla group Hezbollah was on board.
The military said "suspicious objects" were found on board, including "evidence of transfer of know-how and directives for carrying out terror attacks."
Israel's Channel One television reported the Israeli navy intercepted the boat Wednesday night on its way from Lebanon to the Gaza Strip. The boat was carrying a Hezbollah operative and the operation was planned by the Palestinian Authority, the television reported.
Israeli Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom said the incident was another example that Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat was behind terror operations.
"There is no doubt that those involved in the affair are very close to Arafat," he told Channel One. "This is not the first time."
Last year, Israel intercepted a ship, the Karine A, carrying 50 tons of weapons through the Red Sea, reportedly destined for the Palestinian Authority. The weapons included machine guns, rockets, mortars and explosives, all banned under interim peace deals with Israel.
Describing the new ship, Shalom said: "We are talking about another attempt to smuggle weapons from Lebanon to the coasts of Gaza."
He said he was uncertain whether new Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas was involved.
Israel arrests Hezbollah man aboard boat headed for Gaza
Ha'aretz -- May 22
By Amos Harel and Arnon Regular, Haaretz Correspondents, and Agencies
Israel's navy seized a fishing boat Tuesday carrying a Hezbollah activist and weaponry and weapon-making equipment, believed to be heading for the Gaza Strip.
Hezbollah terror-supply boat seized
Israeli navy finds rocket fuses, bombmaking devices on board
WorldNetDaily -- May 22
Israeli naval commandos seized a fishing boat from Lebanon carrying Hezbollah operatives and loaded with rocket fuses, electronic bombmaking devices and instructions on putting together explosives belts for suicide bombings, according to Israeli newspapers.
'Bomb expert' seized on fishing boat off Israel
The Independent -- May 23
By Eric Silver in Jerusalem
The Israeli navy arrested an alleged Hizbollah bomb-making expert on a fishing boat sailing down the coast from Lebanon to Gaza, a military spokesman said yesterday.