The Israelis are arguing that, just as it was on the insistence of Gen Lahd, the SLA commander, that the salient was created, it is his decision to abolish it now. The Jezzin withdrawal had been forced on the Israelis by the collapse of their allies - a collapse for which the Hizbullah had systematically worked. One commander was critically injured and his successor killed within two weeks. Unable to find any SLA officer ready to take the command, and with the rank and file refusing to man the most exposed positions, Gen Lahd realised he had no choice but to pull out. Israeli soldiers will now have to assume a more direct role in the defence of the border zone.
Nobody wants to be the last casualty.