Israelis leave Lebanon in a hurry

A July 7 deadline for withdrawal is moved up after Israel's militia allies flee.

©Associated Press, published May 24, 2000

METULLA, Israel -- Israeli troops evacuated their remaining positions in south Lebanon before dawn today, carrying out an unexpectedly hasty withdrawal that ended one of the most divisive chapters in Israel's history.

The final pullout began with departing troops blowing up most remaining positions after Prime Minister Ehud Barak ordered the evacuation, leaving the border region to Shiite Muslim guerrillas who have been rapidly filling the power vacuum.

Barak initially planned to begin the pullback several days from now. However, his hand was forced when the South Lebanon Army, a militia allied to Israel, rapidly disintegrated. Over a span of several days, SLA fighters abandoned posts and either surrendered to advancing Hezbollah guerrillas or fled south, seeking asylum in Israel.

Hundreds of Israeli soldiers, many dusty and tired-looking, drove across the border in long convoys of tanks and trucks. Several soldiers atop a tank proudly help up a large Israeli flag. Others waved olive branches. A few climbed down from the armored vehicles and hugged each other once they reached Israeli soil.

"The nightmare is over," said Ephraim Gandelberg, a bereaved father whose son was killed in fighting in Lebanon in 1996.

However, relief was tempered by concern that Israel would be unable to extricate itself fully from what has been called the "mire of Lebanon." Barak has said he would retaliate harshly for any Lebanese guerrilla attacks on northern Israel, a scenario that could lead to a renewed Israeli entanglement.

By 5 a.m. today, all Israeli outposts in Lebanon had been dismantled, Israeli military officials said. The last Israeli troops were making their way across the border.

The Israeli withdrawal had begun overnight Monday. The homeward-bound Israeli soldiers were joined by hundreds of panicky SLA militiamen, and their families converged in search of asylum.

All day Tuesday, jubilant guerrillas assumed the positions abandoned by the SLA. Despite the retreat, fighting continued Tuesday. Israel sent Merkava battle tanks to protect its retreating troops, and Israeli air force jets rocketed guerrilla positions and destroyed unneeded roads into its old enclave.

When the Israeli army abandoned Bint Jbeil, Israel's second-largest base in Lebanon, crowds of Lebanese guerrillas and sympathizers surged in to reclaim the village of 4,000.

Fighters and civilians alike waved the flags of the main Shiite guerrilla groups -- Hezbollah and Amal. Some carried pictures of the Hezbollah chief, Sheik Hassan Nasrallah, and others shouted "God protect him."

"This is an unforgettable moment," said Hala Ayoub, 55, squeezing her 18-year-old son whom she saw only once a year outside the zone. Many young Lebanese stayed away from the zone for fear of being forcibly recruited into the SLA.

The scene of celebration was repeated Tuesday in dozens of villages, where hundreds of SLA militiamen surrendered or fled with families to Israel, giving the guerrillas unimpeded access to the border. In the east, militiamen abandoned the notorious Khiam prison and townspeople freed 140 inmates.

"Tell my family I'm coming home," said inmate Mohammed Seyyed.

In Chihin, 100-year-old Hamdiyyah al-Meri joined dancers, stomping her feet with the aid of a cane. "Nothing can stop me now," said al-Meri, a smile exposing her missing teeth.

Tuffaha Hmoud looked on smiling and said: "This is the happiest moment of my life." Hmoud, 48, was reunited with her son, Ali, who had been living with six siblings outside the village to avoid the SLA.

In Israel, border residents took to their bomb shelters Tuesday, fearing possible reprisal attacks.

At Fatima Gate, an inland border crossing into Israel, hundreds of militiamen and their families left cars backed up for miles and finished the journey on foot, carrying suitcases crammed with their belongings. Several hundred more fled through the Naqoura border post on the Mediterranean coast.

Among those heading to Israel were the widow and six daughters of the late Maj. Saad Haddad, the first Lebanese military man to publicly ally himself with Israel. Haddad, a renegade from the Lebanese army in the opening years of the 1975-90 civil war, founded the Army of Free Lebanon, forerunner of the South Lebanon Army.

© St. Petersburg Times. All rights reserved.