Israeli Troops Raid Shia Muslim Village

An Israeli armored column raided the Shia Muslim village of Borj Rahhal in occupied southern Lebanon on Saturday, a spokesman for the U.N. peacekeeping force in the south said.

The U.N. spokesman, Timur Goksel, said at least 150 Israeli soldiers in 15 armored personnel carriers and seven other vehicles entered Borj Rahhal, northeast of Tyre, and rounded up 150 men for interrogation.

They left five hours later, taking with them five people, including a doctor, whose arrest caused an outcry among villagers, security sources in the south said. Israeli foot patrols barred access to Borj Rahhal after the main force left.

The number and intensity of guerrilla attacks against the Israelis increased after the first stage of Israel’s three-part troop withdrawal from Lebanon was completed Feb. 16. The next week, Israel launched its “iron fist” policy, in which entire villages have been sealed off during door-to-door searches.