Several Katyusha rockets slammed into Western Galilee this afternoon. The rockets hit uninhabited areas and there were no casualties.
Following the shelling, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) ordered inhabitants in the Galilee panhandle to return to air-raid shelters. At 10:00 am, the IDF allowed northern communities inhabitants to get out of the shelters, but following the shelling it was decided to reinstate the emergency situation in the north.
The South Lebanon Army's (SLA) disintegration continued today. Foreign correspondents report that Hizbullah has in fact taken over two-thirds of Israel's former security zone in southern Lebanon.
Prime Minister Ehud Barak today said that the IDF had drawn up harsher scenarios concerning its withdrawal from southern Lebanon.
Barak added that he had foreseen in advance that Hizbullah would make a supreme effort to create the impression that it pushed Israel out of Lebanon. "We're breaking the vicious circle that prevented the IDF's exit up to now. When the dust settles, it will be come clear that, after 18 years, this government succeeded in extricating the IDF from Lebanon and assure security.
"What happened is that, after many years, the security zone exhausted itself. Our presence in Lebanon created Hizbullah," Barak said.
Barak warned that Israel would be far quicker to react if Israeli troops or civilians were attacked. He stressed that Israel considers the Lebanese and Syrian governments responsible for any attempted attack. "If somebody tries to shoot at us, we'll react harshly deep inside Lebanon," Barak said.
Minister of Foreign Affairs David Levy said today that there are indications that the Lebanese government is about to deploy its forces in southern Lebanon.
At a press conference in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Jerusalem, Levy added that there are also messages to the effect that Syria is seeking to bring the situation under control, in order to prevent an escalation.
Levy pointed out that all the conditions set by the UN for dispatching additional forces to southern Lebanon have been coordinated with Israel. Ministry of Foreign Affairs officials are expecting UN Secretary General Kofi Annan's arrival soon.
About 2,000 South Lebanon Army (SLA) personnel and their families have been admitted into Israel so far. Most of them were evacuated to Amnon Beach at the Sea of Galilee. Due to a shortage of accommodation facilities, some of them were sent to guesthouse of the Committee for the Welfare of Soldiers in Israel.
In the course of last night and this morning, several hundred SLA troops and their families arrived at Rosh Hanikra border crossing. Following a meticulous security check, they were transported by bus to Amnon Beach, where admission procedure continued.
The refugees looked exhausted, and some of them were also furious. They complained about Israel, which, they claimed, abandoned them following long years of cooperation.
Hundreds of SLA personnel and their families arrived at the Fatma border crossing as well.
Sa'id, an SLA officer in the village of Kalia, said in an interview with IDF Radio today that SLA personnel were profoundly frustrated. "You and us have a serious problem. If you're watching Lebanese television, you can see the celebrations and listen to what they're saying. It's their beginning and our end.
"It didn't come as a surprise for us. We knew something like that was bound to happen, because whenever we asked what was going to happen, we didn't get an answer. It was the IDF - not Hibzullah, the Lebanese government or anyone else - that dismantled the SLA," Sa'id said.
Published by Israel's Business Arena on 23 May, 2000