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ERIC SILVER
Israel Correspondent

Mr

Jerusalem

Palestinians say talks are frozen;
Israelis' say it will thaw.

Photo by Associated Press/

ith the Israeli-Syrian
peace talks on hold —
at best — no one is
surprised that Israel's
northern border with Lebanon has
become dangerously hot. In fact,
some say it's war.
Not surprisingly, many Israeli
analysts suspect that Syrian
President Hafez Assad is deliberately
stoking the always simmering fur-
nace of southern Lebanon to
strengthen his bargaining hand on
the Golan Heights.
Israeli Prime Minister Ehud
Barak might have a surprise of his own in store — a
unilateral withdrawal from Lebanon, which removes
Syria's bargaining chip. And it could come with
believable promises of massive retaliation if attacks
on Israel continue.
In the latest round of all this, Barak has sent a
stern warning to the Syrians, via Washington, fol-

influence on restraining Hezbollah, they will be
forced to pay a heavy price," was the official warning.
In a calculated response, Israeli warplanes rocket-
ed a terrorist command center and power stations
deep inside Lebanon early Tuesday morning, plung-
ing the cities of Beirut, Baalbek, Tyre and Sidon into
darkness. As the country was recovering Tuesday
night, Israeli planes struck again — this time strik-

Force Instead Of Peace

South Lebanon's carnage was broadcast into Israeli
living rooms as Syria peace talks appeared to falter.

,K;w 3,

st

Related Editorial: page 33

lowing the combat death of an _
Israeli combat medic, 20-year-
old Staff Sgt. Yedidya Gefen,
on Sunday. It came in a fierce
mortar barrage launched by the
Iranian-backed Shi'ite militia.
Israel pinned the blame square-
ly on Damascus, Lebanon's
power broker.
"If the Syrians do not exert
the whole of their weight and

Above: Wounded Israeli
soldiers arrive at the Haifa
hospital Sunday following a
roadside bombing in south
Lebanon that killed one soldier.
And striking back (below): Fire
bellows from a destroyed power
plant at the Jamhour substa-
tion on a hill overlooking
Beirut early Tuesday as Israeli
warplanes struck a guerrilla
stronghold and power
stations across Lebanon.

ing at Shi'ite Muslim terrorist strong-
holds in retaliation for their killing of
another IDF soldier, the sixth in two
weeks.
The message was directed as much at
the Syrian and Lebanese governments
as at Hezbollah: Israel is not prepared
to be bombed to the conference table.
Damascus will not be allowed to make
peace and wage war at the same time.
The army ordered residents of Israeli
border towns and villages into their
shelters in anticipation of a Hezbollah
counter-strike. The latest casualty was
not immediately identified; Staff Sgt.
Gefen was the fifth Israeli soldier to die
across the Lebanese border in 10 days,
after 'months of relative calm.
The Israeli public is fast losing patience.
So is the army, though the generals will
still do as the politicians tell them.
Popular anger was fanned on Sunday
night as local television stations aired
anguished, Vietnam-type footage of the
wounded bleeding on the battlefield.
This was a drastic change from the nor-
mally restrained Israeli coverage.
"The Lebanese valley of death pene-
trated 'Mr. Israel's' living room after 18
FORCE on page 26

DAVID LANDAU
Jewish Telegraphic Agency

Jerusalem
I sraeli and Palestinian negotiators, -long at odds
over a host of issues, again cannot even agree
on whether peace talks have reached a crisis.
On Sunday, Palestinian negotiators did not
show up for the latest round of marathon talks
aimed at reaching next week's deadline for crafting
an outline of a final peace accord. By the following
day, they indefinitely suspended their participation
in the talks.
Also Monday, the Palestinian Authority released
one of the top Hamas officials in the Gaza Strip,
Abdel Aziz Rantissi. The release of Rantissi, an
outspoken critic of the peace process, was widely
seen as a slap in Israel's face.
On the Israeli side, there are optimistic voices
suggesting that the present difficulties, like so
many before, will drift away with time.
The Palestinians are insisting that their suspen-
sion of the talks is not tactical, but reflects a real
rupture of trust between Israeli Prime Minister
Ehud Barak and Palestinian Authority President
Yasser Arafat.
On Tuesday, Arafat ordered his minister of agri-
culture to cancel a scheduled meeting with his
Israeli counterpart to discuss the theft of farm
equipment.
The chill in the relationship set in on Feb. 3 at a
bad-tempered meeting between Barak and Arafat at
the .Erez Crossing between Israel and the Gaza Strip.
Arafat left angrily. A joint press conference that
had been tentatively scheduled to take place after
the meeting was sheepishly canceled.
Israeli Foreign Minister David Levy faced
reporters alone, asserting that there was "no crisis"
and that the two sides were too deeply committed
to let any transient problems destroy all they had
built up together.
There is an abiding Palestinian suspicion that
the Israeli-Syrian negotiations, though now also
suspended, will resume and shunt aside their own
peace process with the Israelis.
They feel that Barak, given the choice, would
prefer a quick deal with the Syrians. It could divide
the Palestinians on a final peace accord, which both
sides have agreed to reach by September.
There is also the fear among the current
Palestinian leadership for the future of the entire
peace process, and for their own positions and
•
futures in the hierarchy, should Arafat die or
become incapacitated.
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