Israel Issues Warning as Syria Redeploys Missiles

Syria has redeployed a number of anti-aircraft missile batteries in and near Lebanon in recent weeks, interfering significantly with what Israel considers its vital “freedom of the skies” in the area, it was announced here Sunday.

The Israeli military statement, which was seen as a clear warning to Damascus, followed three weeks of quiet contacts through the American government that saw the Syrians reverse some, but not all, of the potentially threatening missile movements.

Responding to reporters’ questions about the situation, Prime Minister Shimon Peres stressed that “Israel is interested in the maintenance of the status quo and the avoidance of any confrontation or escalation.” However, he added in a speech Sunday night, the country must be prepared to face any Syrian challenge.

Meanwhile, Gen. Moshe Levy, the chief of staff, was asked in a television interview about Israel’s ability to cope with the Syrian moves. He replied, “I would think that if further proof was needed, further proof was given in June, 1982, that missile deployment can be dealt with very well militarily.”

Levy was referring to a stunning Israeli air attack on the third day of its 1982 invasion of Lebanon, when the air force destroyed 17 of 19 sophisticated SAM missile batteries that the Syrians had deployed in Lebanon’s strategic Bekaa Valley.

“There is tension, but I don’t see this as a crisis,” commented Abba Eban, chairman of the Israeli Parliament’s Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee. “And I don’t believe that escalation is inevitable.”

The Syrian redeployment began soon after a Nov. 19 incident in which Israeli pilots, on what was described as a “routine reconnaissance mission” over the Bekaa Valley, shot down two Syrian MIG-23s. Israel quickly attributed the clash to a “mistake or a misunderstanding” and assured the Syrians that it did not reflect any change in Israeli policy.

Nevertheless, the Syrians moved mobile SAM-6 and SAM-8 missiles back into the Bekaa for the first time since June, 1982, triggering an Israeli alert.

“It’s a sensitive point for Israel, because the air force regards freedom of movement over Lebanon as vital to its early-warning capabilities,” said Mark Heller, deputy director of Tel Aviv University’s Jaffee Center for Strategic Studies.

Public Comment Avoided

Despite mounting tension in late November, Jerusalem and Washington agreed to avoid any public comment on the Syrian redeployments while the Reagan Administration tried by quiet diplomacy to persuade Damascus to reverse them.

Thus, a military spokesman denied to a Times reporter two weeks ago that Israel was aware of any change in Syrian missile deployment.

In fact, Israel had reportedly issued a stern warning to the Syrians by way of Washington several days before, after which Damascus pulled the mobile missiles back into Syrian territory.

However, according to Sunday’s announcement here, Syria continued to move older SAM-2 missiles closer to its border with Lebanon in three areas: the Zebedani Heights, about 25 miles northwest of Damascus, overlooking the central Bekaa Valley; south of Homs near the northeasternmost tip of Lebanon, and south of Tartus, on the Syrian coast north of Tripoli, Lebanon.

Various Sites Prepared

According to the military, the new missile positions were among “various sites” first prepared by the Syrians 18 months ago.

Levy called the SAM-2 redeployment “a fundamental process that alters the entire picture.” He said that the Syrian action “interferes significantly” with the Israeli air force’s freedom of maneuver over Lebanon.

“We need freedom of the skies in Lebanon because there is no government there that can guarantee what every sovereign state must insure on its borders,” Levy said.

He noted that Lebanon has been a staging area for what he called “terrorist” attacks against Israeli forces and attempts to infiltrate across the border into Israel’s northern settlements.

“So if there are terrorists, we must retain the ability to attack them, and we must know where they are,” Levy said.

In addition to regular reconnaissance flights over Lebanon, Israeli warplanes have attacked what the military described as terrorist targets in that country more than a dozen times so far this year.

Asked if Israel could live with the new situation, Levy responded: “The IDF (Israel Defense Forces) can live in many conditions. The question is how to assess the conditions and the direction for the action that must be taken.”