Israel quits Lebanon

The last Israeli soldiers shut the border gate

Israeli forces have withdrawn from southern Lebanon - ending 22 years of occupation.

The last soldier crossed the border at about 0345 GMT, closing the gate behind him.

Hezbollah guerrillas swept south to fill the vacuum, following the near total collapse of Israel's allied militia, the South Lebanon Army (SLA).

Israel's army chief threatened to strike Syrian targets in Lebanon if northern Israel came under attack.

Hezbollah fighters chanted anti-Israel slogans

"If there is an attempt to hit the northern residents or [Israeli] soldiers, we will hit all the power-holding elements in Lebanon including Syrian targets in Lebanon," chief of staff Lieutenant General Shaul Mofaz said on Wednesday.

Hezbollah leader Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah has vowed to continue fighting to force Israeli troops from a strip of land known as the Shabaa farms, which adjoins the Golan Heights.

Lebanese Prime Minister Selim al-Hoss said he hoped the withdrawal would lead to peace on his country's border with Israel.

No casualties

As Israeli soldiers took up new positions along the frontier, a group of Hezbollah guerrillas waving flags and shouting anti-Israeli slogans gathered near Metulla on the Lebanon side.

22-year tragedy

1978

First Israeli invasion

1982

Israel seizes Beirut

Palestinians killed at Sabra and Shatila

1985

Security zone set up

1993

S Lebanon emptied by Israeli blitz

1996

Israel's "Operation Grapes of Wrath"

"April ceasefire"

1999

Barak pledges July 2000 pullout

Several, wearing military-style uniform, carried Kalashnikov assault rifles and anti-tank rockets, and brandished portraits of Sheikh Nasrallah.

Similar celebrations were taking place in villages throughout south Lebanon as hundreds of people returned to homes they had been forced to leave in previous years.

An army officer in northern Israel described the pull-out as a "complete success". He said troops had abandoned all their positions with no casualties.

Many Israeli military posts in south Lebanon were blown up as convoys ferried hundred of soldiers across the frontier.

The withdrawal - six weeks ahead of schedule - left Israel's SLA allies in disarray.

On Wednesday morning, some 180 SLA members surrendered to Lebanese police in Marjayoun, the former headquarters of both Israel and the SLA forces, as Hezbollah moved in.

Refuge

The SLA chief, General Antoine Lahd, who is in Metulla, is under a sentence of death for treason if he returns to Lebanon.

Relief is written all over the faces of these Israeli soldiers back on home territory

Israel's Army Radio said General Lahd was due to meet Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak to discuss the fate of the SLA and the situation in south Lebanon.

More than 1,000 Lebanese, mostly SLA men and their families, have crossed the border seeking safety from possible reprisals from Hezbollah.

Israel has offered shelter to more than 5,000 Lebanese.

"They are getting visas and they have one year to decide if they want to live in Israel or Lebanon or start a new life abroad. It's entirely their choice," an Israeli Interior Ministry spokesman said.

Fighting on

Hezbollah has said it will not consider the occupation over unless Israel releases Hezbollah prisoners and withdraws from Shabaa.

Israel has said that the Shabaa lands are not part of Lebanon, but part of an area they captured from the Syrians in 1967.

The United Nations has also ruled that they were not part of the Israeli occupation.

However, Syria says it ceded the land to Lebanon.

Israeli Prime Minister Barak has accused Damascus of doing everything in its power to sabotage the withdrawal.

Syria maintains thousands of troops in Lebanon.

Unifil reinforcements

France on Wednesday welcomed the Israeli withdrawal and appeared ready to commit more troops to a beefed-up UN Interim Force in Lebanon (Unifil).

Hezbollah fighters move into the town of El Khiam

However, French Foreign Minister Hubert Vedrine said the further French contribution would be conditional on Lebanon, Syria and Israel taking a responsible attitude to the new situation in Lebanon. France already contributes 240 soldiers to Unifil.

UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan has said the UN will verify the Israeli withdrawal. He also recommended that its current 4,515 peacekeepers in Lebanon should be reinforced to 5,600 men and then quickly increased to 7,900 to help the Lebanese government regain control of the area.