Beirut: Lebanon threatened yesterday to halt troop deployments to the south of the country after Israeli commandos struck deep in the Bekaa Valley, putting the six-day ceasefire with Hezbollah fighters to a critical test.
Israel said the raid was launched to stop arms smuggling to Hezbollah fighters, but Lebanon said the operation violated the UN truce agreement.
Hezbollah fighters battled the Israeli commando force that landed early yesterday west of their stronghold of Baalbek, killing an Israeli officer and wounding two other Israeli soldiers deep inside Lebanon, Lebanese and Israeli officials said.
Hezbollah said its fighters foiled the raid, but Israel said it force completed its mission. Lebanese security officials said three fighters were killed and three wounded, but a Hezbollah spokesman said there were no deaths among his fighters.
'Flagrant violation'
Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Saniora accused Israel of a "flagrant violation of the cessation of hostilities announced by the Security Council", and said he would take the issue up with UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan.
Defence Minister Elias Murr threatened to halt deployment of Lebanese troops if the United Nations did not intervene against Israel.
The Israeli military said the raid was launched "to prevent and interfere with terror activity against Israel, especially the smuggling of arms from Iran and Syria to Hezbollah."
Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Mark Regev said such incursions may continue until the Lebanese army and the UN peacekeeping force was in control of the Syrian border to ensure against aid and arms reaching Hezbollah.
The White House declined to criticise the Israeli operation, noting that Israel said it acted in reaction to arms smuggling into Lebanon and that the UN resolution calls for the prevention of any weapons resupply for Hezbollah.
Lebanese media reports said Shaikh Mohammad Yazbeck, a senior Hezbollah official in the Bekaa and a member of the group's executive council, may have been the target.
Meanwhile, UN envoys have pledged to ask Israel to stop violations of Lebanese territory, Lebanese Foreign Minister Fawzi Sallukh said yesterday. "They promised to raise the issue with Israel to ask them to stop the violations," Sallukh said after a meeting with visiting UN envoys Vijay Nambiar and Terje Roed-Larsen who did not wish to comment.
"If violations continue, the responsibility will fall on the UN Security Council which will have to ask Israel to stop such aggressions," he said.
