Hezbollah, Israeli Troops Clash in Disputed Region

Lebanese Hezbollah guerrillas clashed with Israeli soldiers in the disputed Shabaa Farms border area Saturday with machine-gun fire, rocket-propelled grenades and mortar shells.

No injuries were reported.

The Israeli army said its soldiers fired into the air to prevent a Lebanese shepherd from entering Israel, sparking the clash. But Hezbollah said its fighters attacked the Israeli position of Roueissat Alam in retaliation for “heavy machine-gun fire” by Israeli forces targeting houses in the area facing the farms.

Lebanese security officials in southern Lebanon said Hezbollah guerrillas fired rocket-propelled grenades and mortar shells at the Israeli position. They said the Hezbollah attack came about an hour after Israeli forces opened machine-gun fire on houses in the village of Shabaa, shattering windows and causing other damage, the officials said.

Hezbollah and the Israeli army periodically have cross-border clashes in the Israeli occupied Shabaa Farms, where the borders of Syria, Lebanon and Israel meet.

Lebanon claims the area but the United Nations says it is part of Syria.

Meanwhile, the Palestinian Interior Ministry said Saturday that the militant group Hamas had agreed to halt mortar and rocket fire on Jewish settlements in the Gaza Strip, a deal meant to save a truce threatened by three consecutive days of violence.

Hamas agreed to stop the fire at a late-night meeting Thursday between Interior Minister Nasser Yousef and the Islamic group’s leadership, ministry spokesman Tawfiq abu Khoussa said.

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas said Saturday that the fighting had subsided, and he didn’t expect it to overshadow his meeting this week in Washington with President Bush.

Israel threatened harsh retaliation after the fighting erupted Wednesday. Since then, Israeli troops have killed three Palestinian fighters. Militants have fired 60 mortar shells and homemade rockets at Gaza settlements.