Heavy fighting reported along Israel-Lebanon border

TEL AVIV — Israel and the Hizbullah have resumed fighting along the border with Lebanon.

The fighting was prompted by the explosion of a large bomb along Israel's northern border. The Hizbullah attack — which resulted in Israeli casualties — took place on Sunday in the disputed Shebaa plateau at the foothills of the Golan Heights.

The sources said the bomb was detonated during a morning patrol by an Israeli military jeep. Israel Radio reported that three soldiers were wounded.

Israeli troops have responded with heavy fire and the air force has deployed helicopters in the area. Lebanese sources said Israeli fighter-jets also attacked targets in southern Lebanon.

Prime Minister Ehud Barak warned of violence along Israel's northern border. "This is a very sensitive area and there could be an explosion at any moment," Barak said.

Israeli military sources had warned of an imminent attack along the Lebanese border. They said the attack could be timed on the eve of the Muslim fast month of Ramadan.

For their part, Hizbullah commanders said they want to prompt Israel into a massive retaliation in Lebanon. They said that so far on Sunday Israel fired more than 100 shells toward Lebanon.

"We know very well the enemy's weak points," Hizbullah commander Nabil Qaouk said. "The Israelis know that the cost of a war would be very great, more to them than others."

Israeli sources said Ramadan could also signal the most dramatic escalation in the Palestinian mini-war with Israel. The lunar month is expected to begin either on Monday or Tuesday.

The sources said Hamas and Islamic Jihad operatives have been warning of a series of bombing attacks that would be more bloody than the Hadera car-bombing last week in which two people were killed and more than 60 injured.

"Our response will be more car bombs and they will pay a high price," Sheik Hamed Bitawi, a Hamas leader in Nablus, said.

On Sunday, Palestinians detonated a bomb near the Jewish settlement of Netsarim. No injuries were reported.

Palestinians reported that 11 people were killed in clashes with Israel on Friday and Saturday. Two Israelis, including a military officer, were killed in the Gaza Strip as Israeli buses came under gunfire in several areas.

Islamic groups are urging Muslims to overrun Israeli army positions in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. They are calling for mass prayers and protests and are reminding Palestinians of how Hizbullah sent hundreds of Lebanese to drive Israeli soldiers out of positions in Lebanon in May.

Israel's military has requested an increase in 2.5 billion shekels [$610 million] in the defense budget for fiscal 2001. Over the weekend, Barak approved a 2 billion shekel increase.