In)security Zones in South Lebanon

This essay considers the dilemma of south Lebanon, a region enmeshed in regional conflict and an area where Lebanon's internal conflicts have reverberated and even exploded. The region, which borders Israel to the south and Syria to the east, has been for more than two decades a virtual battlefield where the inhabitants have been punished dearly for the accident of living in the crossfire between Israeli and Palestinian guns. As the peace process moves forward on other fronts, the fate of this region remains to be resolved. Spasms of violence in southern Lebanon involving Israel and its enemies have become the norm, not to mention intra-Lebanese conflicts and Lebanese-Palestinian violence that has often, but not always, been an extension of the Arab-Israeli conflict. Long neglected by the government in Beirut, the south, with its absence of legitimate authority, has acted like a magnet for regional powers intent on engaging Israel without jeopardizing their own borders. Over the years, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Libya, and Syria have found the pull of the south irresistible. For its part, Israel has been heavily involved there, using the area variously as a launching site for larger adventures in Lebanon and as a place for hunkering down and conducting forays, more or less at will, to preempt, punish, and intimidate its foes. More than 150,000