Visitors or Conquerors?

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The motives of Israel's forces in Lebanon remain unclear

Along the coastal highway north of the Israeli border, road signs in Hebrew point the way to Beirut, Nabatiyah, Sidon and other cities. Israeli military policemen with red armbands and white helmets direct traffic at key intersections, and the road has been newly blacktopped to speed the transport of Israeli men and materiel. As the highway approaches Beirut, it passes several large encampments of Israeli soldiers.

Israel's invasion of Lebanon has evoked fears that Israeli troops have come to stay, just as they did in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, which Israel has occupied since 1967. The Lebanese note that although Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin declared shortly after the invasion of Lebanon last June that Israel did not want any Lebanese territory, Jerusalem has insisted that a 25-mile-wide strip inside the Lebanese border be subject to international guarantees under a multinational force. To complicate matters, the Israelis have said that they will not leave until the estimated 30,000 Syrian troops that are based in the Bekaa Valley withdraw from Lebanon. The Israelis have strongly hinted that if negotiation fails they will force the Syrians' withdrawal by military means.

Yet, except for directing traffic and moving military equipment, the Israelis have tried to keep a relatively low profile in Lebanon. The groups of Israeli soldiers that wandered around East Beirut in mid-June like so many gawking tourists are now mostly out of sight. Israeli troops are permitted to buy only soft drinks, candy and cigarettes from street stores and vendors. Fraternization with the Lebanese is prohibited, and Israelis are barred from the restaurants and cafes of East Beirut and Jounieh, a few miles to the north. The army authorities have also warned Israeli soldiers to avoid Lebanon's plentiful supply of hashish.

As a rule, the Israelis have left municipal governments alone. Says Ibrahim Adnan, underprefect of the Nabatiyah region: "Frankly, the Israeli troops don't interfere at all in our affairs." But that, to some Lebanese, is precisely the problem. A Lebanese police officer who has not received a paycheck from Beirut since the invasion complains bitterly that the Israelis are not doing enough to restore order. Says an Israeli officer: "We had to find a way not to be a military government, but at the same time to get things done."