May 25th “National Resistance Victory Day”
The Israeli army’s humiliating defeat from south Lebanon on May 25, 2000 after 22 years of occupation has been described by the Israeli “yediot Ahrronot” newspaper as “the day of humiliation” while it was justified by the Israeli General Shaul Mofaz as “a withdrawal that doesn’t impinge on dignity”.
Actually, national resistance had vanquished Israel’s occupation forces and its agents without negotiations and without conditions on May 25th which has been designated as “Day of National Resistance’ Victory and Liberation of South Lebanon”.
On 1978, the Israeli occupation forces, which invaded south Lebanon under the pretext of removing the threat of armed Palestinian existence in south Lebanon, had expanded its occupation of the Lebanese territories and reached Beirut, Lebanon’s capital, in 1982.
Israel had occupied 125 Lebanese villages and subjugated 33 of them to dictations of militias which were called “Lebanon Free Army” under command of Saed Haddad before calling it “Lebanon South Army” under command of Antwan Lahd.
So, the Lebanese youths carried weapons and formed what is called later “Lebanese National Resistance” to fight what was described then as the “legendary army that can not be defeated”.
How resistance defeated Israel
During the first half of 2000, The Lebanese national resistance had carried out hundreds of qualitative operations against the Israeli occupation forces’ sites and forced them to withdraw from south Lebanon.
Several months ahead of Liberation Day, sites of occupation forces and militias were stormed and a decisive blow was delivered to the Israeli occupation forces in January 2000 as Israel’s agent Aqel Hashem was assassinated.
Few hours after the assassination, the resistance fired two missiles on a military convoy causing the death of three Israelis and injuring others.
In February, the Israeli TV unveiled an urgent plan to evacuate the Israeli soldiers from south Lebanon within few days after the resistance targeted an Israeli patrol near Blat town in which 9 soldiers were dead and injured.
In April and May, the resistance inflicted heavy losses upon the Israeli occupation forces through destroying the Armata site and killing 6 Israeli agents as well as carrying out al-Bayada operation.
Day of victory
On May 25th at 6:43 a.m(local time)the Mercedes of the Israeli General Benny Gants crossed the Fatima gate 93 on the Lebanese-Israeli border and followed by vehicles and soldiers carriers to the occupied Palestinian territories leaving a barb wire for which they had paid souls and money.
One minute later, Israel closed its border with Lebanon after withdrawing its last soldier from there.
As many as 1200 Israeli soldiers had been killed during the Israeli occupation of south Lebanon which lasted for more than two decades.
The Liberation of south Lebanon and west Beq’a from Israel under leadership of Sayyed Hasan Nasrullah, secretary General of Hezbollah, and in cooperation with national resistance groups that formed in 1982 to resist occupation is not enough to the Lebanese resistance as it seeks to complete victory through liberating Shab’a Farms and hills of Kfar Shouba from Israeli occupation forces.
The May victory, in fact, is a result of integration between resistance and some political forces in the region including Syria which protected the resistance from internal and external conspiracies.
Basma Qaddour