A unilateral
withdrawal of Israel from South Lebanon seems nowadays to be nearer than ever.
The South Lebanese Army (SLA) is having difficulty in functioning. The Israel
Defense Forces (IDF) still has no answers, but the commander of the Lebanon
Liaison Unit (LLU), Brigadier General Benny Gantz, is trying to keep up the
fighting spirit of the soldiers of the militia.
Amos Harel, “Ha’aretz”, March 24,
2000
The conversation lasted much beyond the scheduled time. This Sunday, the commander of the LLU, Brigadier General Benny Gantz, met with the officers of an SLA regiment in the western sector of the Security Zone. At first, the company commanders gave a report of a purely military nature. That is, problems ranging from supplies and salaries to the need for more fortification of the outposts. Then Gantz asked to hear the opinion of the officers on the topic of the political and security situation.
The company commanders
reacted with a frontal offensive. One officer said, “The parents of my soldiers
are asking where will it all end.” Another officer burst out with, “Why are
your media silent? All that we hear over here is the Hizbollah.” “The local
inhabitants say to my soldiers, ’Suckers. Why do you continue to man the
outposts?’” A third officer said, “I have been in the SLA for fourteen years in
order to safeguard my home. I will not agree that you should abandon me. I
expect you to assure my future here. I have two brothers who have fallen in
action and I am prepared to be the third. The main thing is that you assure our
future.” A fourth officer, the
commander of a headquarters company, argued, “If you withdraw without an
agreement, then I prefer to accompany you into Israel.”
Gantz told the
officers, “We want to leave here under an agreement. We therefore must not
allow ourselves to break down. The question now is who will blink first. If we
can knock out a squad of Hizbollah roadside bombers, then we can achieve a few
weeks of quiet. Hassan Nasrallah can say whatever he want, but I believe that
by July we shall be out of here by agreement, because that is in the interest
of all the parties, except the Hizbollah.” He urges the SLA commanders to
listen to Ehud Barak. In every public announcement he promises that we shall
not forsake you. I do not believe that we shall set aside twenty five years.”
(to be continued)