Israel wins condemnation for retaliatory strike

TEL AVIV [MENL] -- France, Italy, Jordan and Syria have condemned Israel for last night's air strike on three Lebanese power stations and Hizbullah headquarters.

The Lebanese government convened an emergency meeting on Tuesday. Government officials said Lebanon is seeking to immediately convene the international monitoring group.

"Israel has no right to quit the monitoring group," Lebanese Premier Salim Hoss said. "Hizbullah did not contravene the terms of the [1996] agreement because it didn't injure civilians."

The French foreign ministry and Syrian Foreign Minister Farouk A-Shaara also called for the monitoring group to be reconvened.

Jordanian Foreign Minister Abdul Ila Khattib said that the attack poisoned efforts to achieve a peace agreement in the Middle East.

A senior Israeli military official said on Tuesday that Israel will launch tougher reprisals in the face of another Hizbullah attack.

"We will consider other actions, more elaborate ones, severer ones... if there are Katyushas in the next hours, we will have probably to do something more," Brig.-Gen. Giora Island, head of the army's planning branch, told reporters on Tuesday. "If they will fire Katyusha rockets, there will be a severe reaction," he said.

Island said the aim of last night's air strike on three power stations and the Hizbullah headquarters in Lebanon "was to deter and not to cause too much damage. The message was in correct dosage. We don't think that it will lead the Syrian army to intervene. There was no intention to casue any escalation...The message was relayed by an accuate attack on infrastructure," he said.

The Hizbullah headquarters and the power station in Baalbek are located in Syrian controlled-territory.

"This isn't the first time we've attacked Baalbek," Island said. "We do expect Syrian involvement but in the other direction, in controlling Hizbullah."

Following the attack, the Israeli army ordered all residents in northern Israel into bomb shelters. Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak said the residents can expect a few more hard days Israel launched the retaliatory attacks on Lebanon in the wake of bloody Hizbullah strikes on Israeli and South Lebanese Army troops.

An Israeli army spokesman on Tuesday said Israeli air force fighter-jets struck three power stations in Lebanon along with the headquarters of HIzbullah in the Baalbek region in the eastern Bekaa Valley. The spokesman said all planes returned safely to base.

"The Israeli army launched a series of raids after the upsurge of violence sparked by Hizbullah and other organizations which amount to a violation of the 1996 agreements," a military statement said, referring to an understanding that bans the use of civilians as a target or a shield. "The Israeli army warns all those who might inflict damage on Israeli territory that such operations could lead to fiercer attacks and a tough response from Israel."

A Hizbullah statement on Tuesday said that Israel could expect a revenge attack very soon.

"We reserve the right to retaliate at the appropriate time, which could be very soon. The nighttime attack cannot protect the Israeli army in the occupied zone from strikes by the resistance, and [Israeli] soldiers will remain a target for Mujahedeen bombs, rockets and ambushes."

The Israeli air strike began midnight Tuesday. Israeli warplanes flew across Lebanon and struck the power stations and Hizbullah headquarters.

In Beirut, eye witnesses said a missile hit the road in front of the Beirut power station, creating a huge crater that prevented fire fighters from reaching the site for about 45 minutes.

Lebanese sources said that power was gradually restored to limited areas by the morning.

Electricity Minister Suleiman Traboulsi said that the air strikes were more serious than previous attacks. There was serious damage to the power supply and innocent civilians were injured. The estimated losses exceeded "many times'' the $25 million in destruction caused by similar air strikes in June.

The attacks followed a long meeting by the ministerial committee on security to deal with the increased Hizbullah attacks, in which five soldiers were killed over a period of 10 days. The Cabinet was said to be divided between those who advocated attacks on Syrian and Hizbullah targets and those who wanted the strikes limited to Lebanese infrastructure.

Several ministers said the government of Prime Minister Ehud Barak has decided to withdraw the military in July from southern Lebanon, regardless of any agreement with either Syria or Lebanon.

A senior government source said the majority of Barak's Cabinet agrees with the decision, which has not yet been brought to a formal vote. The source said Barak is prepared to withdraw from Lebanon without an agreement.

At the meeting of the ministerial security committee, two ministers, Ran Cohen and Shimon Peres, called for an immediate Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon.

Opposition leader Ariel Sharon on Tuesday called for a halt to the Syrian-Israeli talks.

"As long as the terror continues, it is encouraged and aided by the Syrians," Sharon said.

In Beirut, Lebanese Premier Salim Hoss defended Hizbullah operations. "The resistance was never the reason for the [violence]," he said. "The resistance is due to the occupation. Therefore, it is only natural for the resistance to continue as long as the occupation continues Radio Beirut on Tuesday called the Israeli attack, "the act of cowards."

In Damascus, Syrian sources Tuesday said that the peace process with Israel is at a dangerous crossroads and Syrian officials called on the United States to reset the process on the right tracks.

The Syrian daily Tishrin said Barak's predecessors have already tried aggression but to no avail.