Six years after Israel's ouster, Shebaa farmers believe Hezbollah is their 'saviour'

By Weedah Hamzah May 23, 2006, 22:59 GMT

Shebaa, Lebanon - Six years after Israel's pullout from Lebanon, Shebaa farmers continue to hope their occupied land will be liberated by the anti-Israeli guerrilla warfare waged by the Lebanese militant Hezbollah.

'My farm inside Shebaa is still under occupation by the Israeli army, but I know Hezbollah will liberate it like they liberated southern Lebanon on May 2000,' Abu Hussein, a Shebaa farmer, said on the eve of the pullout's sixth anniversary .

Standing behind a barbed wire that separates Lebanon from areas under the Israeli occupation, 81-year-old Abu Hussein, pointed to a green hill. 'This where the land I inherited from my grandparents is located. I spent most of my childhood on this hill,' he said.

'How can they (Israelis) say that Shebaa is not Lebanese?' he added angrily, as he showed a map and a certificate of ownership of his land.

The small mountainous Shebaa Farms territory lies at the point where the borders of Lebanon, Syria and Israel meet.

Israel captured Shebaa from Syria in 1967 Middle East war, and it is now claimed by Lebanon, with Damascus's consent.

Israeli troops retained control of the area after their withdrawal from south Lebanon in May 2000 after two decades of occupation.

Shebaa remains today the scene of clashes between Israeli forces and Hezbollah who have vowed to liberate it by force.

For Abu Hussein and others in the village of Shebaa, which is located inside Lebanon, Shebaa Farms are part of their village, but they were occupied by the Jewish state years ago.

Riding on his donkey, Abu Hussein led the way to the closet point in Shebaa village where the farms can be seen clearly and also the Israeli posts overlooking the area.

'Look at the lush of green land those belong to the people of Shebaa village - we all have ownership certificates and we have presented them to the Lebanese government to hand them over to the United Nations,' Abu Hussien said.

'But since we know Israel does not respect decisions adopted by the UN..that is why we are counting on Hezbollah to liberate them for us.'

Hezbollah chief Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah has vowed to liberate Shebaa 'no matter at what expense.'

'The Israelis have learned a lesson from their Lebanese experience and they know now that it is impossible for them to stay in Lebanese territories,' Nasrallah said in a speech on March 6.

Lebanese officials have linked the withdrawal of Israel Shebaa to disarming Hezbollah, a main demand by the world community in UN resolution 1559.

'If the US and friendly countries help us achieve the withdrawal of Israel from Shebaa farms, this would make it possible for the Lebanese forces to be the sole owner of weapons and arms in the country,' Lebanese Prime Minister Foaud Seniora said during a US tour last month.

The UN resolution which was adopted in 2004 calls on Lebanon to disarm all local (Hezbollah) and foreign (Palestinian) militias on its territories, but Hezbollah have refused to hand over their arms until they liberate Shebaa.

Hezbollah was theoretically the only militia allowed to retain its arms after the end of the country's 1975-1990 civil war because it was considered a resistance movement against an occupying force.

Abu Hussein and six years after Israel withdrew from southern Lebanon truly believes that Hezbollah is the only 'saviour.'

'They have liberated all of southern Lebanon from the Zionist occupation..and they (Hezbollah) will force them (Israelis) to leave from my land before I die, ' Abu Hussein said.