LEBANON: ALONG THE ARAFAT TRAIL

NOTHING, it seemed, could halt the bloody feud between the army of Lebanon and the Palestinian Al-Fatah guerrillas--not the intervention of Gamal Abdel Nasser, not the warnings of the U.S. and the Soviet Union, not the menace of an uneasy Israel. From Tripoli south to Sidon, from dusty villages on the edge of the Mount Hermon massif in the east to the fashionable sea front of Beirut in the west, violence continued as Arab fought Arab. In Tripoli alone, at least 18 were dead.

At issue was a question that may yet haunt other Arab governments as the guerrillas grow stronger or bolder: Where, and in what numbers, should the fedayeen be allowed to operate in their "war to the death" against Israel? Jordan's King Hussein confronted the guerrillas over the issue and ultimately backed down, giving them virtually a free hand in his border areas. Two weeks ago, the issue brought violence to Lebanon when the army cracked down on the fedayeen for having moved into populated areas supposedly barred to them under an earlier agreement.

Minus the Trademark. Initially, Arab leaders took the fedayeen's side. Many openly roasted Lebanon's President Charles Helou for refusing to allow them free movement. But last week, shocked that the crisis showed no signs of letup, the Arabs grew uneasy. Nasser invited both sides to conciliatory talks. Lebanese Army Chief Emile Bustani promptly flew into Cairo with proposals for a truce. In agreeing to the meeting, Helou insisted that "Lebanon's sovereignty should not be less than that of any other Arab state." In other words, he still wanted final say about where the guerrillas should operate.

Al-Fatah Leader Yasser Arafat, on the other hand, decided to milk world opinion before attending the Cairo meeting. He first flew to Damascus, where he persuaded his compliant Syrian hosts to suspend their rule barring Lebanese and Western newsmen from the country. As a result, Arafat had a sizable EastWest audience for the first formal press conference he has ever held. Oozing confidence, the guerrilla leader strode into the Damascus University law-school auditorium wearing a five-day growth of beard but without the tinted wraparound sunglasses that have become something of a trademark.

Arafat breathed fiery defiance. "Arab revolutionaries have a right to fight anywhere," he said. He insisted that "American imperialism is behind all actions hostile to the Arab nation." Playing on the pride of the Lebanese in their business acumen, he warned that unless Israel is wiped out, "it is bound to be proved that Israelis are better businessmen than Lebanese."

Customary Insouciance. There was still scattered terrorism in spite of the maneuvering in Cairo. Near Sidon, an oil-storage tank belonging to the TransArabian Pipe Line Co., a U.S. oil subsidiary, was spectacularly set ablaze. In Beirut, dynamite charges exploded harmlessly outside the Phoenicia Hotel and on Hamra, the principal shopping street. But in cities and refugee camps, riots and sniper attacks seemed to be abating, and discussions between Helou and Lebanese Moslem leaders replaced the angry recriminations of the week before.

Beirut residents, with customary insouciance, generally ignored the strict curfew that Helou had invoked to curb violence. In nightclubs like the Crazy Horse Saloon and the Caves Du Roy, crowds watched strippers or danced to an Italian rock group. Doctors, diplomats and journalists were allowed on the street under the curfew law. Joining them were countless cabbies, who claimed that every fare was a sick relative en route to a hospital, and dozens of small boys who took advantage of a holiday from school to fish along Beirut's seafront esplanade. Helou finally eased the virtually meaningless curfew.

After Arafat's press conference, fighting stepped up along the highway that runs from Syria to Israel through the Bekaa Valley. In the town of Rachaya, the 17-man garrison held off a fedayeen force of 50, killing five of the guerrillas and capturing five without suffering a loss. Everywhere, in fact, Lebanon's lightly regarded army was showing unusual discipline and spirit. The army, like the rest of the country, is roughly half Moslem and half Christian, but its loyalties were with the government rather than the fedayeen. "How can these people shoot at me?" complained a sergeant inside Rachaya Castle. "I am an Arab, and they treat me like a Jew."

The army ordered up tanks and artillery to support its meager force along the Bekaa Valley highway, but the guerrilla attacks continued. The fedayeen claimed--though the army denied it --the capture of the village of Mashta Hassan after a 14-hour fight. The guerrillas also renewed their attack on the border town of Masnaa, where fighting broke out two weeks ago. Without control of the highway, the fedayeen would have to mount their attacks on the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights from the cold, rugged Mount Hermon terrain. Western newsmen in Lebanon christened the highway "the Arafat Trail."

Strength and Provocations. The battles indicated the continuing strength of the fedayeen. Arabs estimate their total at 50,000 men, compared with 27,000 only a year ago. The figure may be inflated. Israeli intelligence experts insist that it includes regular army units that are used as guerrillas in some countries. There may also be double and triple counting as guerrillas move from one unit or area to another. Israel reckons the fighting force at 7,500 men along the borders of Jordan, Syria and Lebanon. Whatever the case, they are well armed and well financed. Most now tote Soviet Kalashnikov rifles, and they have replaced smaller mortars with the longer-range 120-mm. models and with Czech Katyusha rocket launchers. As for monetary support, Saudi Arabia alone contributes more than $3,000,000 a year, and Arafat on a recent visit to the new Arab nationalist regime in Libya came away with a $250,000 donation. Palestinians working in Iraq, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia are taxed as much as 7% of their salaries for the guerrilla cause, and in some Persian Gulf states, hotel guests find a 5% "Palestine tax" added to their bills.

If Arafat's flourishing forces in Lebanon can reach the border of Israel, with or without Lebanese accommodation, they will cause trouble for everyone concerned. Last week they provoked argument anew between the U.S. and Russia. For the first time, the Soviets publicly praised the fedayeen, condemned Lebanon and accused the U.S. of provoking the trouble by supporting Israel. Privately, Soviet Ambassador to Washington Anatoly Dobrynin told the State Department that Moscow wanted to cool the crisis in Lebanon. Washington, unwilling to accept Moscow's private assurances while the Soviets were scoring public propaganda points, angrily dismissed the Russian charges of U.S. provocation. Israel, meanwhile, announced that it was raising the maximum age for military reserve duty from 49 to 55. It also issued its own communique announcing "concern for Lebanese territorial and political integrity." No one doubted that the Israelis were prepared to punish fedayeen attacks from Lebanon, or to react forcefully if the fedayeen caused Helou to lose control.

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