Israeli and South Lebanon Army forces yesterday blockaded the southern Lebanese village of Arnoun, enclosing it with barbed wire. According to military sources, the fence was put up to prevent Hezbollah guerrillas from using the village to launch attacks on IDF and SLA forces in the area.
But in Beirut, Lebanon's Prime Minister Salim al-Hoss condemned the move as an expansion of Israel's 14-year-old "security zone" in south Lebanon. "Israel's assertions that it wishes to withdraw from Lebanon sound absurd as it annexes yet another village to its occupation," al-Hoss said yesterday.
Al-Hoss, who is also foreign minister, added: "Israel is defying the whole world with this latest aggression. It is belittling international opinion and proving just how willing it is to implement U.N. resolution 425." The 1978 resolution demands that Israel withdraw unconditionally from south Lebanon. A Lebanese foreign ministry source said Lebanon would complain to Israel's ally - Washington.
IDF military sources denied al-Hoss's allegations, saying that the fence was set up to protect both Israeli soldiers and the residents of the village from Hezbollah attacks. According to the sources, local residents will be allowed to continue crossing in and out of the security zone through Kafr Tibneet, a checkpoint separating the occupied area from the rest of the south.
Arnoun is located on the border of the security zone, close to the Boufor outpost occupied by the IDF. In the past, the village was home to some 2,000 residents, but most have fled because of heavy fighting in the area. Israel demolished 14 abandoned homes there, claiming they were being used by the Hezbollah to prepare roadside bombs.
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