Israel Tells Lebanon to Restrain Shiites or Face More Retaliation

In a blunt ultimatum that cast a deep shadow on the Middle East peace talks, Israel on Monday said that its military forces will make life “intolerable” in Lebanon unless the Beirut government restrains Shiite militias that have attacked northern Israel with rockets.

The warning was delivered as Israel resumed separate but parallel peace negotiations with each of its Arab neighbors: Lebanon, Syria, Jordan and the Palestinians. The talks, the seventh round of a process that began more than a year ago, are to run until Nov. 20.

“Scores of Katyusha rockets were fired (Sunday night) from Lebanon into towns and villages in Israel close to the border and also into the security zone,” Israeli negotiator Uri Labrani told Lebanese delegates. “If there is no security on our side of the border, life will become intolerable on your side of the border as well. The latest attack will not pass unnoticed.”

Labrani repeated the statement, which he said was drafted in Jerusalem at the highest level of the Israeli government, to reporters after a chilly half-hour meeting with Lebanese delegates. He said the rockets were fired by Hezbollah militia.

Lebanon’s chief delegate, Souheil Chammas, told reporters that Israel started the exchange by bombing Hezbollah-controlled villages in Lebanon. He said four people were killed in the raids.

“The Katyusha shelling was a reply to that provocative act on the part of the Israeli military air power,” Chammas said. “Until such a time that they recognize this, I regret to say that the talks cannot move forward as we all wish.”

Still, Israeli spokesman Yossi Gal said, “Israel will continue to pursue peace with those committed to it as if there were no terrorism and will continue to pursue terrorists as if there were no peace talks.”

Meanwhile, continued progress, slow but perceptible, was reported in the Israel-Syria and Israel-Jordan talks; the Israeli-Palestinian negotiations remained stalled.

Israeli and Jordanian delegations reopened discussions on the detailed agenda for their talks, an issue thought to have been completed last month. But both sides said the hitch was minor. Both Israelis and Jordanians consider the agenda to be extremely important because it amounts to a framework for a peace treaty.

Israel and Syria continued to haggle about the relationship between a peace treaty and Israeli withdrawal from the occupied Golan Heights. Syria wants a firm commitment for withdrawal before it will discuss the nature of a treaty, while Israel wants Syria to pledge a total peace, including exchange of ambassadors and open borders, before talking about withdrawal. But both sides said agreements on other matters, reached earlier, remain in force.