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Israel's Border Residents Calmly Accept Army Pullout From Lebanon
After the last Israeli soldier withdrew from south Lebanon early Wednesday morning, residents in Israel's northern border town of Kiryat Shemona calmly accepted the pullout.
The populous town along the border between Israel and Lebanon had been a major target of Lebanese Hezbollah guerrillas' Katyusha rocket attacks in the past few months.
Israel invaded Lebanon in 1978 and set up a security zone in south Lebanon in 1985 with a self-claimed aim of protecting its northern settlements from cross-border guerrilla attacks.
Since then, Hezbollah, backed by Iran and Syria, has been spearheading a war of attrition to oust the Israeli occupation forces and launched rocket attacks on northern Israel off and on.
The Shemona residents traditionally adopted a negative attitude toward Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak's plan to pull Israeli troops out of Lebanon by July because the move will endanger their normal lives and harm their economic interests. In April and early May, these residents also announced a strike against the withdrawal which was approved by Israeli cabinet in March.
However, most residents interviewed on Wednesday termed the withdrawal as a positive step and supported Barak's policy toward Lebanon, including his remarks that if Israel is attacked after its troop withdrawal from south Lebanon, the Israeli military will launch reprisals not to be limited to the border area.
The pullout was accelerated in the past 48 hours after the pro-Israeli South Lebanon Army (SLA) in the so-called security zone collapsed suddenly under the pressure of Hezbollah.
More and more SLA militiamen surrendered to Hezbollah guerrillas who sped up their move to take over strongholds gradually abandoned by Israelis recently.
Zievi Edna, a shopkeeper, said she suffered great economic loss because she had to close her shop in recent days in fear of the chaos in the town. However, she believed Israel should pull its troops out of south Lebanon as the territory is not Israel's soil.
A senior resident named Mike said he congratulated Israel Defense Forces officers on the successful withdrawal as it caused no Israeli casualties during the move, adding that Israelis should no more shed their blood in other countries' territories. He said he agrees to Barak's opinion on the Lebanon issue.
Asked if he thought the withdrawal posed threats to his life, Yakov Schwartz, a young worker, said it was the same security expectation before and after the withdrawal and the former security zone no longer helps protect the lives in Kiryat Shemona.
Sarah Naor, a bank staff, agreed with Schwartz, but she stressed that if Israelis were again under Hezbollah's Katyusha rockets' attack after the pullout, the Israeli government should surely take "strong steps" to retaliate.
Mike, held the same view on the issue, but added the strikes against Lebanese should only be limited to infrastructure sites, such as power stations, bridges, and should not cause any civilian casualties.
A volunteer working for Magen David, or Israel's Red Cross organization, said Barak could do better than what he did today, but he believed the withdrawal is still good.
The man, who rejected to reveal his name, was among the volunteering doctors and nurses sent from Israeli port city of Haifa to reinforce the northern border areas.
Timna Orland, a 15-year-old student, said she and her family members totally support the withdrawal and if a general election is held three years later when she can vote, she will surely choose Barak as prime minister because of his brave move regarding Lebanon.
Before Wednesday's sundown, the center of Kiryat Shemona returned to normal life again and most people moved out of the bomb shelters where they had spent two nights.
Doddi Orlivy, a young computer specialist, said he believed peace is the most important thing in the world, and expressed the hope that Israelis and Lebanese will not point guns at each other again.
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