CAUGHT IN THE MIDDLE

ISRAEL did not get away without cost from its commando raid on Beirut airport. Through Lloyd's of London, Israeli insurance firms were underwriters for $50,000 worth of policies held by Middle East Airlines on planes that were destroyed. Thus, ironically, Israel will pay part of the nearly $18 million that MEA will collect. It is Lebanon's only cause for cheer. For the reverberations from the raid brought an internal crisis to the tiny nation last week, along with the prospect of being drawn against its will into the whirlpool of Middle East hostilities.

By remaining aloof from the passions and wars of other Arab lands, Lebanon, alone of Israel's neighbors, has escaped losing territory to Israel. It has pursued the role of a Middle Eastern Switzerland, providing its 2,700,000 people with the highest living standard of any Arab country. Beirut is a cosmopolitan city of thriving banks and glittering beaches, excellent restaurants and gaudy nightclubs. Internally, Lebanon has maintained a delicate equilibrium since it gained independence from French mandate rule in 1943, by an unwritten "national covenant" apportioning political power between the Christian and Moslem halves of its population.

Fears of Invasion. All that seemed threatened last week in the wake of the Beirut raid. The already shaky government of Premier Abdullah Yafi toppled amid a crossfire of recriminations over the Beirut airport's lack of defenses. In the Premier's palace, President Charles Helou called in Rashid Karami, 47, who first won an international name as leader of a brief, Nasser-supported rebellion that brought U.S. Marines rushing to Lebanon in 1958. Karami has since served as Premier five times, the last time during the Six-Day War, when he ordered Lebanon's army into battle against Israel. The army prudently refused to budge.

Last week, Karami was trying to pull together a Cabinet from among Lebanon's fractious political parties, and shape a new policy toward Israel. Amid fears of an Israeli invasion of Lebanon's mountainous south, Lebanese debated whether to risk disaster at the hands of the Israelis, or to break all tradition, ally themselves with the Arab cause, and raise a powerful army--which could equally mean disaster.

Militant students, including some Christians, demonstrated in favor of a military draft. "Our sons are leading the way," declared a Beirut hotel manager last week. "We must get tough." In Tyre, merchants closed their shops in a one-day protest, and the Roman Catholic Bishop of Beirut sent a petition to Parliament demanding "full cooperation with the people of Palestine."

Most Christians, however, oppose the draft, and so do the majority of Beirut businessmen. "We will smash ourselves," says a chain-store manager. "We must not commit suicide. It is best for us and for all the Arabs to have this noninvolved outpost." Many Lebanese agree, on the practical ground that a draft would cost at least $30 million. Editorialized the Beirut Star: "Lebanon realizes that Israel's military might is much stronger than her own. It would take a great deal of money to improve on the situation. Since 1943, we have followed a policy of letting the big powers protect us. Why not in the future as well?"

Village Shelters. As a halfway measure, Lebanon's army began training border-village leaders in firearms, and announced that it is building concrete bomb shelters. They are not likely to be enough. Israel has repeatedly warned that Lebanon will be held responsible for any raids from its territory by Arab fedayeen. That policy plays into the guerrillas' hands, since they are determined to enlist Lebanon, willingly or not, in their cause.

Until now, Beirut has tacitly allowed the fedayeen free rein for propaganda and recruiting, so long as they refrained from training in the country or operating across the border. Karami's vague promise "to work by all means to serve the Palestine question" seemed to indicate no intention of changing that policy, if he is given a choice. He may not be. The Israelis insist that the fedayeen have bases in Lebanon and have used them for military action against Israel. Lebanon denies this. What is almost certain is that Lebanon is being used as a transit area for Syrian-based commandos, which in Israeli eyes makes Lebanon equally culpable. It would take an army of 40,000 men to patrol the border properly. Since there are only 15,000 men in the Lebanese army, the fedayeen raids will doubtless continue, and so, likely, will Israeli reprisals.

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