Israeli and Lebanese troops clash at border

In a worrying development, gunfire has broken out between Israeli and Lebanese forces on Israel's northern border. This is the first time hostilities have broken out since the end of the Israeli-Lebanon war last summer.

The Israelis are saying that they were searching for explosive devices that Hizbullah may have planted on the border.

The incident followed a day of tension, as IDF troops entered the area between the fence and the internationally-recognized border with several bulldozers, in order to search for explosive devices Hezbollah planted there.

Earlier this week, four explosive devices were discovered in the area. IDF sappers detonated them from a distance.

The IDF carried out yesterday's operation after informing the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) and the Lebanese Army of its intentions.

In response, the Lebanese Army warned the IDF that if its forces violated Lebanese sovereignty, it would open fire.

The IDF said that it did not intend to cross into Lebanese territory, but if its forces were attacked, it would respond.

Israel rejected Lebanese claims that it had violated Lebanese sovereignty, saying that the force was south of the international border - inside Israel - as delineated by the United Nations following the IDF pullout from southern Lebanon in May 2000. In some places, the border and the fence are several dozen meters apart.

Lebanese officials said an IDF bulldozer crossed the international border and entered about 18 meters into Lebanon.

I don't want to read too much into this at this stage but I find it interesting that the Israelis claim that they "didn't intend" wandering into Lebanese territory. Borders are so clearly defined that I find it hard to believe that one could wander into someone else's territory and be unaware that you were doing so. Especially as the Lebanese army were on the other side of the border watching. And had threatened to fire if their territory was breached. How can a mistake like this occur without it being a deliberate provocation?

It reminds me of the deliberately provocative behaviour that Israel used to display when dealing with Syria over the Golan Heights. As Moshe Dayan explains:

It would happen like this: We would send a tractor to plow someplace of no value, in the demilitarized zone, knowing ahead of time that the Syrians would begin to shoot. If they did not start shooting, we would tell the tractor to keep going forward, until the Syrians in the end would get nervous and start shooting. And then we would start firing artillery, and later also the airforce, and this was the way it was. I did this, and Laskov and Tzur [two previous commanders-in-chief] did it. Yitzhak Rabin did it when he was there , but it seems to me that it was Dado, more than anyone else, who enjoyed these games.

There is also a noticeable change in Israeli rhetoric.

The IDF officer said the army intends to clear all salients between the border and the fence of explosives.

"Our way of thinking has changed," the officer said. "Before the war, the approach was that confrontation was bad for us, and therefore we kept away from the fence. Now the approach is that we will operate up to the Blue Line [the international border] and if the other side seeks a confrontation, it will get it," the officer said.

So, we have Bush making noises towards Iran, and now we have the Israelis crossing international borders and saying "if the other side seeks a confrontation, it will get it."

Indeed, Israel have also threatened to take action against Syria.

Defense Minister Amir Peretz on Wednesday accused Syria of allowing the rearmament of Hezbollah guerrillas in Lebanon and said Israel has the right to act forcefully against the Shiite militia to counter the threat.

Speaking to visiting U.S. Jewish leaders, Peretz said Syria, Hezbollah's main ally, is continuing to allow weapons shipments to the group to cross its border with Lebanon.

"We can't under any circumstances ignore the transfer of weapons and ammunition to Hezbollah," Peretz said. "While Israel remains committed to the cease-fire we reserve the right to protect the citizens of the State of Israel and we will do this forcefully without any compromises."

The one thing that Bush and the Israelis have in common at the moment is they are both very keen to indulge in fighting talk.

As I say, I don't want to read too much into this at the moment, but the people who dream of a wider Middle Eastern war are today a small step closer to having their wish granted.

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