Israel attacks Palestinian base in Lebanon

HAIFA, Israel – For the first since the Jewish state began its military campaign against Hezbollah last month, Israeli gunboats last night shelled the headquarters of a Palestinian militia in south Lebanon.

Military officials here said the target of the attack was Fatah, which maintains a military camp in the Ein el-Hilweh village, the largest so-called Palestinian refugee camp in Lebanon, located on the outskirts of the southern port city of Sidon.

The Israeli attack follows a WND article last week in which a senior Lebanese political source said Palestinian militias operating out of Lebanon have passed large quantities of heavy weaponry, including rockets, to Hezbollah for use against Israel.

The move also comes amid calls by Palestinian groups in Judea, Samaria and Gaza to prepare for an "escalation" against Israel and follows statements by members of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah party that their "fighters" in Lebanon are set to enter combat along with Hezbollah.

Palestinian groups, including Fatah and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General Command, maintain armed bases in Lebanon, mostly in the al-Naemeh province just south of Beirut and in the Bekaa Valley near Lebanon's border with Syria. The groups also have offices in Syria.

Israeli and Lebanese officials say the Palestinian groups have been provided over the years with rifles, ammunition, several kinds of long-range rockets and anti-tank and anti-aircraft missiles by Iran and Syria. Israel previously has bombed Popular Front bases following rocket attacks against the Jewish state it says were launched from the Palestinian group's military camps in Lebanon.

The Palestinian groups in Lebanon earlier this year clashed with the Lebanese Army. A United Nations resolution demands Lebanon disarm "all militias," including armed Palestinian groups.

Lebanese officials tell WND the Palestinian groups in recent days passed heavy weaponry to Hezbollah. They said some of the weapons belonged to Hezbollah but were stored in Palestinian bases.

The officials also said they had information Palestinian camps in Lebanon were being used for Hezbollah training and that some Hezbollah members are still operating out of the camps.

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert claimed Israel has destroyed most of Hezbollah's bases, targeted much of the terrorist group's weapons arsenal and destroyed nearly two-thirds of the its longer-range rockets.

Hezbollah is still thought to possess up to 10,000 more Katyusha rockets capable of hitting northern Israeli cities and hundreds of Zalzel and other kinds of longer-range rockets that can target central Israel, including Tel Aviv. In addition, security officials here say rockets continue to be smuggled into Lebanon from the country's border with Syria.

During its current military campaign against Hezbollah, Israel until now has refrained from hitting Palestinian bases in Lebanon.

Last month, Sultan Abu al-Aynain, leader of Fatah in Lebanon, announced Palestinian gunmen in the country are set to join the fighting against Israel. He said Fatah has thousands of fighters in Lebanon who are prepared to participate. It was unclear whether his comments were coordinated with Abbas.

WND reported last week Bani al-Hassan, a senior Abbas official, sent a letter to hundreds of Fatah members asking them to prepare for an "escalated battle" against Israel while the Jewish state continues its military campaign in Lebanon. The letter also was sent to members of the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades terrorist group, the declared "military wing" of Fatah.

"You the fighters are the new generation that will bring us victory over Israel," Hassan wrote in the letter, obtained by WND from a Fatah official.

Hassan compelled Fatah members to "be prepared" for an escalation against the Jewish state but did not mention particulars or give specific instructions.

Later yesterday, Hassan led a rally in Ramallah in which he reportedly informed participants he placed Fatah fighters on high alert "ahead of the possibility of escalation of the conflict in Lebanon, which could manifest itself in an escalation of Israeli actions (here)."

"I know what I'm talking about, and I know what I'm referring to," Hassan reportedly told the crowd.