Jerusalem, 17 January 1996
PERES MEETS WITH SLA COMMANDER GENERAL ANTOINE LAHAD
(Communicated by Defense Ministry Media Coordinator)
"We believe that the Lebanese government must stop mistreating the South
Lebanon Army and its commander. There will be no peace with Lebanon
without an honorable arrangement and full agreement for integrating the
SLA in the Lebanese security forces," Prime Minister and Defense Minister
Shimon Peres said this morning, following a conversation with SLA
commander General Antoine Lahad.
Deputy Chief of Staff Maj.-Gen. Matan Vilna'i, Coordinator of Government
Activities in Lebanon Uri Lubrani, OC Northern Command Maj.-Gen. Amiram
Levine, OC Intelligence Maj.-Gen. Moshe Ya'alon, and the head of the IDF
Liaison Unit for Lebanon, also participated in the meeting.
Prime Minister Peres expressed his deep appreciation to General Lahad and
his army, and said that the SLA ensures that there is peace in southern
Lebanon until there is a peace agreement.
The Prime Minister and Defense Minister said that the order to appear
before it, which a Lebanese court issued against General Lahad, is "an
insult to the SLA commander and great Lebanese patriot, and we will not
ignore it." He added that despite the fact that Israel has no territorial
claim on Lebanon, it is the Lebanese government which needs to explain
itself, and if it desires peace, it must take into account that it is not
alone in the area.
Peres said that the position of the Lebanese government worries Israel,
since it allows Hizbullah to operate in southern Lebanon when it is clear
that this organization is trained, financed, and receives orders from
Iran. "Hizbullah serves a foreign country, a terrorist state, and instead
of the Lebanese government trying to exercise control over it, it gives it
freedom of action in large parts of Lebanon. The Lebanese government does
not understand the great value constituted by the existence of the SLA.
There can be no genuine peace negotiations with the Lebanese government,
if it does not halt the freedom of action given to Hizbullah, and does not
stop the attacks on the SLA and its commander," the Prime Minister said.
He added that, "We want peace with Lebanon, but it is not possible to
combine peace with terrorism. The time has come for the Lebanese
government to draw conclusions from the mistakes it has made, and not
blame them on Israel. In the past, Lebanon opened the area to Fatah, and
now it is opening it to Hizbullah terrorism. Israel is not fighting
Lebanon, but will not hesitate to act against terrorism in Lebanon."
In summation, after his meeting with General Lahad, Prime Minister and
Defense Minister Peres called on the Lebanese government to show
responsibility for its future and for the chances for peace, and to
respect the great contribution of the SLA until we reach a permanent
peace.