| ||
| ||
| ||
 |
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Israel, Lebanon in border clash
(CNN) -- Israel and Lebanon exchanged gunfire in a disputed border area, according to Lebanese officials, a day after Israeli planes attacked a suspected Palestinian militant base in Syria. The Lebanese Joint Security Force said in a statement Monday that gunmen engaged Israeli forces in a gun battle and that explosions were heard in the disputed area known as the Shebaa Farms. The Israel Defense Forces said an Israeli patrol in the area returned fire after being shot at by snipers on the Lebanese side who were wearing the uniforms and masks of the militant group Hezbollah. IDF said one Israeli soldier was killed in the exchange. The Shebaa Farms area, a mountainous region at the foot of the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, has been subject to sporadic attacks by Hezbollah guerrillas in the three-and-a-half years since Israel withdrew its forces from South Lebanon. The increased tension in the volatile border zone followed Sunday's attack by the Israeli Air Force on the suspected Palestinian training camp in Syria. Israel issued a warning to both Syria and Lebanon late Monday, urging them to stop their alleged support of militant groups. At the same time, Israel said it had not ruled out another attack in Syria. "There could be more, there could be not," Israeli government spokesman Ranaan Gissin said in a telephone interview. Israel defense officials said the camp targeted in the Syria strike was used to train members of Islamic Jihad -- a militant group that has claimed responsibility for terror attacks against Israelis in the past, including the suicide bombing Saturday in Haifa. (Full story) But the Syrian Foreign Ministry insisted the Israeli target, near Damascus, was a civilian site, without elaborating. A spokesman for the Islamic Jihad denied Sunday there were any Islamic Jihad training bases in Syria. Meanwhile, U.S. President George W. Bush said Monday he had made clear to Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon that "Israel's got a right to defend herself, that Israel must not feel constrained in terms of defense of the homeland." But he added that he had told Sharon "it is very important that any action Israel take should avoid escalation, creating higher tensions." On Sunday, Syria proposed a draft resolution at the U.N. Security Council condemning the Israeli strike and calling on Israel to avoid any actions that would worsen the Middle East crisis any further. (Full story) No vote is yet scheduled on Syria's resolution, and it is doubtful whether the United States -- which holds the Security Council's rotating presidency this month -- will support it. On Monday, the Syrian ambassador to the United Nations, Fayssal Mekdad, told CNN his nation has worked with the United States to fight terrorism, and deserved support. Amr Moussa, Arab League secretary-general, agreed. "This is a situation that doesn't conform to the international law. The right of self-defense applies when a state is attacked," Moussa said. "When a country occupies the land of other countries and practices violence ... it's not possible to consider this self-defense." -- CNN correspondents Brent Sadler and Chris Burns contributed to this report.
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
