Four trucks and two jeeps carrying about a dozen members of the SLA passed into Israel at a crossing point near the Israeli communal farm of Milkhia. They brushed aside Finnish U.N. peacekeepers who tried to stop them, followed by Hezbollah fighters who took possession of some arms, an armored car and a tank the SLA had left behind. It has proven a death trap for both Israeli regular soldiers and their SLA allies. June 1 is now being floated as the new deadline. An army commander today confirmed the military had been ordered to prepare for a June 1 withdrawal, but that none had been ordered by then, according to Reuters.
Polls indicate the occupation is highly unpopular.
Hezbollah appears to have selected its next target to achieve its avowed aim of driving the Israelis and their allies out. For the first time in years, according to Israeli sources, fighting was reported in the Chebaa farming area at the foot of Mount Hermon, part of the Golan Heights bordering on Syria. The area's borders are disputed among Lebanon, Syria and the Palestinians, all of whom claim it. Israel has said the area will not be included in the withdrawal but could eventually be handed back to Syria, from which it was captured in 1967, as part of a peace deal there. Masterman and Bassem Barhoum, The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.