Lahoud warns of confrontation

Mr Lahoud says Israel does not want peace

Lebanese President Emile Lahoud has accused Israel of bringing the Middle East to the brink of "all-out confrontation".

Mr Lahoud made his comments in a national address marking the first anniversary of Israel's troop pullout from south Lebanon after 22 years of occupation.

The unravelling events are solid proof that Israel seeks... security at the expense of peace

Lebanese President Emile Lahoud

He said his country would continue to oppose Israel's presence in the disputed Shebaa farms border region, and called for "a reassessment" of the Middle East peace process.

Cross-border tension remains high following the shooting down of a Lebanese civilian plane by Israel on Thursday.

"The unraveling events are solid proof that Israel seeks security, not peace... more so, it seeks security at the expense of peace," Mr Lahoud said.

"The region finds itself on the brink of an all-out confrontation as a direct consequence of Israel's intransigence.

"Resistance is still our best weapon to face Israeli aggression."

'Kamikaze' attack

Lebanon marked the anniversary with a national holiday.

But correspondents say the scale of bloodshed continuing in the Palestinian territories dampened the sense of celebration.

Ehud Barak: Ordered withdrawal

The shooting down of the Cessna also marred events.

Israel has defended its action. The military said the pilot had not responded to warnings and it was concerned it may have been an attempted suicide attack to mark the anniversary.

The 24 May 2000 withdrawal is seen in Lebanon and the Arab world as a victory.

It was the first time Israel had withdrawn from captured territory without a peace deal.

Hundreds of Israeli troops were killed in a sustained guerrilla campaign led by the militant Islamist Hezbollah group.

The pullout, ordered by former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak, was depicted within certain Israeli circles as a national humiliation.

Despite the generals' concerns, however, that withdrawal would leave the northern border towns at the mercy of the Lebanese resistance, Israeli civilians there have largely been left in peace for the past year.