Wednesday, May 24, 2000 HEADLINES Resistance chased withdrawing occupation troops in Nabatieh and Rihan Four Hezbollah Martyrs killed by occupation's treachery Hezbollah: "Israel" did not implement 425, retreated in defeat Occupation retreats in defeat, Shibaa farms remain occupied Hezbollah SG receives freed prisoners, unveils plots to extort Lebanon PM: Joy of liberation won't make us forget that Shibaa farms are Lebanese US calls on Lebanese army to deploy in south -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Resistance chased withdrawing occupation troops in Nabatieh and Rihan As part of completing the final steps of making Lebanon's liberation and victory which was written with the pure bloods of the martyrs, the Islamic Resistance (IR) proceeded with chasing the last bands of the Zionists and their collaborators who retreated from our land under fire with their tail between their legs. IR targeted the enemy troops and vehicles as they were retreating. Squad of Martyrs Hussein Nasser and Asaad Shabshoul at 20:40 Tuesday attacked with rocket propelled grenades enemy movements in the vicinity of the Dabshe outpost scoring direct hits. Ten minutes later, squad of Martyrs Hussein Trabulsi and Ibrahim Faqih targeted the gate of the Dabshe outpost after spotting enemy motorized movements in the outpost's vicinity. Squad of Martyr Adnan Farhat at 21:35 targeted the last retreating vehicle in the Rihan outpost. Five minutes later, squad of Martyrs Ahmed al-Musawi and Mahdi Shamas attacked the Dabshe outpost while squad of Martyrs Ahmed al-Mokh and Mohammed Akhdar targeted enemy retreating vehicles from the same outpost. IR's Engineering Unit at 22:55 dynamited the Shlahboun outpost with a large amount of explosives. The outpost was completely destroyed. At 23:30, squad of Martyrs Mohammed Jaber and Abbass al-Shab blitzed the enemy vehicles retreating from the Beaufort outpost, while squad of Martyrs Wehbe Wehbe and Ali Hijazi pounded enemy movements in the outpost itself. At 23:55, squad of Martyrs Moussa Fahs and Youssef Rihani pounded in a violent and concentrated fashion the Dabshe outpost and the vehicles retreating from it scoring direct hits. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Four Hezbollah Martyrs killed by occupation's treachery The Islamic Resistance (IR) announced the martyrdom of four of its men who had joined their brethren in the path to liberate the homeland. "Since IR set out, victory and martyrdom accompanied it; they will always do until complete liberation is achieved, an IR communiqué read. "With all pride and honor, IR announces the martyrdom of four of its men. "After the residents' return to their villages and after people flooded in every direction, two civilians Tuesday evening headed towards the Blatt outpost which they thought was evacuated by the enemy. "They were besieged by the occupation troops' fire for over an hour. An IR force had to intervene in order to rescue the civilians. IR men engaged in fierce clashes with the enemy troops manning the outpost with machine guns and rocket propelled grenades. The occupation's helicopters intervened in the battle. This led to the martyrdom of 4 IR men. They are: Martyr Hajj Khodor Ali Ibrahim (Abbas), 32, born in Bashura (Beirut), married with two children, joined IR in 1989, took part in several military training courses besides several jihad missions. Martyr Ahab Shaheen, 26, born in Ghobeiry (Beirut), married, joined IR in 1992 took part in several military training courses besides several jihad missions. Martyr Akram Hassan Hamdoun, 31, born in Rwaes (Beirut), married with 2 children, joined IR in 1984, took part in several military and educational training courses besides a number of qualitative jihad missions, obtained encomium from Hezbollah's Secretary General his Eminence Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah. Martyr Engineer Nizar Ali Saleh, 32, born in Ramia (south), married with 3 children, joined IR in 1989, took part in several military and educational training courses besides many jihad missions, AUB graduate with a degree in Mechanics engineering. IR asked the people not to go to the outposts of the occupation and its militia before they are purified and to wait until it is certain that the outposts' vicinities are cleared of mines. Two children were wounded by mines left by the occupation and its militiamen. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hezbollah: "Israel" did not implement 425, retreated in defeat Hezbollah Deputy Secretary General his Eminence Sheikh Naem Qassem stressed that "Israel has not withdrawn, but retreated in defeat. It has not given us anything, we have recaptured our rights." "Israel" did not implement UN Security Council resolution 425; it moved out with its tai between its legs, he said in a statement issued on Wednesday. Having lost its maneuver in the Security Council, "Israel" could not wait any longer. Those who tried to impose their conditions on Lebanon in a bid to assist "Israel" lost their ability to do this, for the resolutions were delayed, got old and became worthless, while the field of honor talked about recovering a soil and a right with no favors from anyone, he added. "As for the occupied towns, they were liberated by the Resistance men and the residents. The collaborators surrendered, they were not handed over. The Zionist leaders were not able to fulfill any of the promises they had made. "They have threatened, but their threats backfired; they have staged aggressions, but these aggressions prompted painful retaliations; they have invited offers, but these were not materialized, and the pullout deadline could not hold on any longer. "It was clear that the speedy events and the racing signs of victory have taken the Israeli enemy aback, so it was lost, lost control, and had to flee overnight out of fear of developments. "The honorable brave Islamic Resistance men have written the most wonderful of all heroic epics, achieving an unprecedented historic victory in the Arab-Israeli conflict. It was the first time "Israel", along with those who back it, were defeated at the hands of the Resistance men. "A new era has begun with all the momentum of resistance experience to be used as basis and fuel for this era. "We will proceed with our resistance to liberate the Shibaa farms and release the detainees and prisoners inside the Zionist entity. We will also maintain our readiness to prevent "Israel" from achieving its aggressive and expansionist objectives in our region. "Congratulations to all on the days of resistance, joy, and victory." -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Occupation retreats in defeat, Shibaa farms remain occupied The final stage of the peaceful invasion by the Lebanese civilians and the liberation of the villages in the areas of Marjeyoun and Hasbayya was over by 3:30 a.m. Wednesday, after a long day of Israeli air and ground bombardment that targeted different areas in the south and the Western Beqaa. Scattered bands of the occupation army were encircled due to the disorderly Israeli withdrawal and the enthusiasm of the Lebanese residents who rushed into the occupation's outposts to make sure that they were evacuated. The occupation's warplanes raided several areas and its artillery bombarded the targeted areas until late Tuesday evening when the enemy entity's officials were able to announce that the last Israeli soldier had left the Lebanese territories. Wednesday morning, around 300 of the occupation's agents who had been waiting since Tuesday afternoon surrendered along with a number of collaborators who had decided not to flee with the occupation forces into the enemy's entity. The celebrations in the freed towns were repeated throughout Tuesday evening in Marjeyoun, al-Qlaia, al-Khiam, Hasbayya, Shibaa and other towns. However, the Shibaa farms remained occupied. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hezbollah SG receives freed prisoners, unveils plots to extort Lebanon Hezbollah Secretary General his Eminence Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah congratulated the freed prisoners on their freedom and getting out of the al-Khiam detention center in this honorable fashion. Speaking at a rally on the occasion Wednesday dawn, his Eminence said, "This freedom was not a favor from no one, neither from "Israel", for it has not released the Khiam prisoners, nor from the cowardly fleeing Antoine Lahd, nor from the UN, the Security Council or the international community. Sayyed Nasrallah unveiled the plot according to which the Khiam prisoners were to be released. "The Israelis did not plan to withdraw this fast; the plan was for them to pull out over weeks in a gradual fashion, evacuate outposts and hand them over to the Lahdis on the grounds that after these weeks the UN envoys would come, check the borders, bring international forces that would, in turn, be handed over the outposts then negotiate with Lebanon about the Khiam detainees in exchange for Lebanon's abandoning its right in the Shibaa farms. "The plan did not include the prisoners' coming out tonight. They were to be released in two or three weeks. What changed the equation was that brave penetration two days ago by the honorable people and the Resistance men into the towns of al-Qantara, Dair Sirian, al-Taibe, Adsheet and al-Qsair, which drove the Lahdis out. As soon as three or four outposts had fallen and six or seven villages returned to the homeland, Lahd's militia melted like a grain of salt. They had betted that the militia would hold on for weeks. The fact was discovered simply. The enemy's security cabinet convened and Barak came out to say he had two options: "either we return to the outposts (from which the Lahdis fled) or to speed up the withdrawal". They took the second option and started dismantling quickly to move out before the arrival of Kofi Annan's envoy and before the security council convened and took the decisions it took today (Tuesday). "Brothers and sisters who have came out of imprisonment, you can raise your heads high now, for the bloods of the martyrs of your people, your brethren, are what enabled you to return to the homeland under the flag of the resistance." -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PM: Joy of liberation won't make us forget that Shibaa farms are Lebanese Prime Minister Dr. Salim al-Hoss said the joy of liberation from the Israeli occupation will not make Lebanon forget that the Shibaa farms are still occupied and that Lebanese men are still in "Israel's" prisons. In a press release congratulating the Lebanese on the Israeli withdrawal after a 22-year occupation, al-Hoss said, "Our joy in this glorious day will not make us forget that the Shibaa farms are still under occupation or the fact that we have Lebanese brothers suffering in Israel's prison." On Tuesday, al-Hoss said Lebanon "will cooperate to the utmost" with the international force in securing the Israeli pullout from south Lebanon although it did not include the Shibaa farms that Beirut insists are Lebanese while "Israel" considers as Syrian. "Israel" holds in its prisons 20 Lebanese men without trial, including his Eminence Sheikh Abdel-Karim Obeid and Hajj Mustafa al-Dirani. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- US calls on Lebanese army to deploy in south US secretary of state Madeleine Albright on Tuesday urged Lebanon to send troops into the south to replace the Israeli occupation forces that have withdrawn from the area. "The Lebanese people have wanted to be in charge of their country," Albright told reporters at the state department before leaving the United States for a NATO meeting in Florence, Italy. "This is their opportunity and to have the Lebanese army be able to do it in an orderly way would be good," she said, reiterating US appeals for calm and restraint as Israeli occupation troops continued their pullout. "We would like to see this whole process be calm and peaceful. We are urging restraint, violence does not help this process," she said. The Lebanese army will not deploy in the region until Beirut's demands are met, Lebanese military sources said Tuesday. "There are no plans to deploy the army in southern Lebanon for the moment," a top officer told AFP but declined to elaborate. Lebanon's most important demand is that UN peacekeepers, in accordance with UN Security Council Resolution 425, verify that the Israeli pullout has been total and complete throughout the region. Beirut will also insist that the Israeli entity no longer violate Lebanese airspace or its maritime territory, and that all Lebanese prisoners are liberated. Israeli foreign minister David Levy also insisted Tuesday that Beirut would have to deploy its army. "The Lebanese government must send forces to south Lebanon," he told a press conference in occupied al-Quds (Jerusalem). "The Lebanese government must assume its responsibilities, because if not it would show that other elements dictate its behavior and would therefore be responsible," he said.