Lebanonwire, January 22, 2003

The Daily Star

Samer Wehbi
Daily Star correspondent

Hizbullah fighters shelled Israeli positions in the Shebaa Farms on Tuesday, provoking Israeli air strikes and artillery fire that wounded two civilians, security officials said.
A statement issued by the Islamic Resistance Movement said the fighters, using automatic weapons and rockets, attacked an Israeli position in Rowsat Allam at 3pm “as a group of soldiers were outside the post’s fortifications.”
It added that simultaneously a support unit struck with the “appropriate weapons” during the attack, scoring “direct hits.”
Witnesses in Kfar Shuba said scores of rockets landed on the Israeli position, inflicting direct hits on its installations.
Some 20 minutes later, Israeli forces shelled the outskirts of Kfar Shuba and nearby areas, using 155mm and 122mm shells from gun emplacements in the occupied Syrian Golan Heights. Israeli warplanes then twice raided the eastern outskirts of Kfar Shuba, using air-to-ground missiles.
At 4.30pm, the Israelis expanded their artillery bombardment to cover Habbarieh. Several shells landed in a residential area, wounding two civilians who were moved to the Marjayoun hospital for treatment. The shelling also damaged a number of houses in the village.
In Jerusalem, a spokesman for Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said the rocket attack was a “serious development.”
“This bombardment … is a clear attempt to provoke an escalation in the region ahead of the Israeli general elections or of a possible war with Iraq,” said Raanan Gissin.
Israeli Major General Benny Ganz, commander of the northern region, told AP that Hizbullah was “playing with fire.” He said there were no injuries among Israeli soldiers.
Ganz said Lebanon and Syria must take responsibility for Hizbullah’s actions. “Eventually our patience will run out and Hizbullah will not necessarily be the target,” he said.
Hizbullah interrupted its programming on Al-Manar Television station to report the attack. Lebanese officials were quoted as saying Hizbullah fighters fired around 25 rockets and mortar shells on the Israeli outpost.
It was the first border incident in five months. The area has been largely quiet since August, when Hizbullah fighters fired mortar rounds and missiles at Israeli outposts, killing one soldier and wounding two others.
The barrage came just two days after Sharon warned Palestinian militants, Syria and Hizbullah not to act against
Israel in case of a US-led war on Iraq. It also coincided with a visit to Beirut by a US congressman, Darrell Issa, a California Republican, who has urged Lebanese leaders to intercede with Hizbullah to allow the International Committee of the Red Cross to see four Israelis reportedly held by the resistance.
Meanwhile, Hizbullah said there were 52 Israeli violations of Lebanese sovereignty during the week of Jan. 14-20. They comprised four aerial and 48 naval violations. ­ With agencies

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