Tuesday May 23, 2000 3:15 PM ET Israeli Hold on South Lebanon Collapses By Miral Fahmy KHIAM, Lebanon (Reuters) - Israel's hold on south Lebanon collapsed Tuesday, with the last stronghold of its local militia crumbling and villagers forcing open the notorious Khiam prison. A Reuters correspondent saw villagers and relatives storming the jail to liberate 130 Lebanese prisoners held for up to 14 years. Guards from the Israel-paid South Lebanon Army (SLA) simply drove off. SLA forces also surrendered in the extreme east of the former Israeli ``security zone'' in the afternoon, another Reuters correspondent said. Israeli warplanes continued to bomb abandoned SLA posts to prevent their equipment getting used by advancing Hizbollah fighters. Eyewitnesses said an Israeli tank fired at a BBC hired car across the border, killing its driver. Two Lebanese gunmen were also wounded in an exchange of fire with Israeli soldiers across the border, Lebanese security officials said. The only remaining force of the SLA is left in its headquarters town of Marjayoun. SLA sources said senior officers -- who could expect much harsher treatment than surrendering enlisted men -- were fleeing south to nearby Israel. Marjayoun was a virtual ghost town, with only a handful of SLA left. The rest had loaded families into cars and sped from the Christian town to the crossing point into northern Israel. Explosions on distant hills were a reminder Israel continued to strike at suspected guerrilla targets even as its local allies disintegrated. Israeli troops could be seen from Marjayoun still occupying the heights of the Crusader-era Beaufort Castle, but the last Israeli troops were expected to leave Lebanon soon -- ending 22 years of failed Israeli effort to control south Lebanon. There were mixed signals on prospects for peace after the Israeli withdrawal, which will depend on cooperation with U.N. officials who must verify Israel has returned over the borders it invaded in 1978. The Lebanese government indicated it was ready to delay pressing its claim to land bordering the Israeli-occupied Syrian Golan Heights but Hizbollah guerrillas said the war to regain territory would continue. ``Freedom, Freedom'' There was no greater symbol of the dramatic end to the occupation than the storming of the hated Khiam prison, where human rights groups have long said the SLA tortured prisoners it seized in its battle against Hizbollah. Residents, chanting Allahu Akbar (God is Greatest) and firing in the air, marched from the Shi'ite Muslim villag of Khiam to the prison, tore down the bars and freed the prisoners. ``Freedom! Freedom!'' screamed a white-haired prisoner after villagers broke down his cell door with their bare hands. ''We're actually free at last.'' Reuters Photo Overjoyed prisoners, some detained since 1986, fainted on seeing relatives. The compound of dirty white, squat buildings topped with barbed wire often echoed with the screams of those being interrogated. ``I'm an engineer, I've been here for four years, they've also arrested my wife, my child, my mother and my sister but now its all over,'' said Aly, tears streaming from his one good eye. ``Our people released us. The resistance has released us. We are all resistance. Long live Hizbollah.'' Gaunt and exhausted, but brimming with pride, prisoners helped villagers destroy the compound. Doors were broken open, windows shattered and Hebrew-inscribed equipment abandoned by the SLA smashed to pieces. ``God damn them, God damn them,'' screeched a man bashing in a desk with his rifle butt. Hundreds of Hizbollah guerrillas had swept through villages abandoned by Israel and its allies in other parts of southern Lebanon earlier Tuesday, the second day of an advance that proceeded with astonishing speed. Monday Hizbollah had split the occupation zone in two and by early Tuesday they had captured another 20 villages and held half of Israel's self-proclaimed security zone. Christian Panic The advance by the Muslim guerrillas, on foot and in private cars, sparked panic among Christians and jubilation among Shi'ites. Guerrillas took positions inside a cluster of Shi'ite villages, swiftly moving through abandoned posts, capturin suspected Israeli-backed militiamen and seizing weapons and ammunition. In the zone's second largest town, Bint Jbeil, thousands of Shi'ite residents lined the streets, showering the advancing gunmen with rice and saluting them with V-for-victory signs. The Israeli army confirmed it had crossed into Israel under cover of darkness early Tuesday, taking tanks and heavy machinery with them. Hizbollah then took Ain Ibil village, the first Christian village held by the Muslim guerrillas. Residents looked nervous but the guerrillas later pulled out from the center and took up positions on its outskirts. Witnesses said hundreds of men, women and children, fearing the advance of Hizbollah, left Christian villages and Tair Harfa and headed south to Beranit crossing point into Israel. ``There are hundreds of abandoned BMWs along the road -- and a few tanks,'' said Timur Goksel, spokesman for the U.N. peacekeeping force. Witnesses said Israel allowed many villagers to cross the border on foot, forcing them to leave dozens of cars, with keys in the ignition, on the Lebanese side. Villagers who stayed behind flocked to churches to pray, and the peal of church bells was heard in several villages. In the village of Alma ash-Shaab, 800 residents of a population of 2,000 stayed, gathering outside the village church and raising Lebanese flags.