Lebanon: Situation of the officers of the South Lebanese Army (ALS) and on the protection offered to them and their families by the Israeli government
| Publisher | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada |
| Author | Research Directorate, Immigration and Refugee Board, Canada |
| Publication Date | 1 September 1998 |
| Citation / Document Symbol | LBN29991.E |
| Cite as | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, Lebanon: Situation of the officers of the South Lebanese Army (ALS) and on the protection offered to them and their families by the Israeli government, 1 September 1998, LBN29991.E, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/3ae6aafe5f.html [accessed 20 May 2023] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
The following information was provided during a 25 September 1998 telephone interview with a journalist in Beirut writing for the newspaper Daily Star and The Lebanon Report. The journalist has been living in Lebanon for several years and travels to the south regularly where he closely monitors the situation.
The journalist stated that the Israeli government provides protection to all senior South Lebanon Army (SLA) officers. The journalist added that junior officers and their families could remain in Lebanon without problems. The Lebanese government and the Hezbollah recognize that the population of the south is caught in a very difficult situation where they have to make decisions that ensure the economic subsistence of their families and their participation in the SLA was not ideological but dictated by economics. The journalist stated that SLA junior officers and soldiers would benefit from attenuating circumstances from the Lebanese government after an Israeli withdrawal. This would not be the case for senior SLA officers such as the SLA commander-in-chief Antoine Lahad.
The journalist stated that the amnesty for SLA deserters, including middle ranking officers and soldiers, is currently still in effect. In fact, the security forces and Hezbollah receive deserters with "open arms" and resettle them in Lebanon. Many SLA deserters, including middle-ranking officers, have benefited from this amnesty.
The following information was provided during a 28 September 1998 telephone interview with the Director of the Centre For Lebanese Studies in Oxford, England.
The Director stated that junior or middle-ranking officers who desert the SLA would benefit from an amnesty and would be allowed to settle and live a normal life in Lebanon today. The director could not provide specific information as to whether Israel would protect SLA officers, but he was aware that as many as 50 SLA senior officers had residency status in Israel.
In its Spring 1998 issue, The Lebanon Report stated that
The Israeli government has offered to house militiamen who want to live in Israel following a withdrawal, or to send them abroad if they so wish (28).
According to The Jerusalem Post,
A number of senior commanders have sought asylum in Israel or have made arrangements to move their families abroad should Israel's presence in south Lebanon appear to be winding down.... arrangements have already been made for him (Antoine Lahad( and other top SLA commanders to be granted political asylum in France (31 July 1998).
In a 5 July 1998 report Haaretz, an Israeli newspaper published in Tel Aviv, stated that "two human rights organizations told the Supreme Court (of Israel( that the commander of the South Lebanon Army, Antoine Lahad, has an Israeli passport."
Haaretz reports that
Lahad moved his family to France a few years ago and visits there very frequently. A close associate said the general recently bought a house near Paris....He said Lahad has a great deal of money and is well-guarded in France, adding that the Israeli embassy in Paris is responsible for contacts with him (25 Dec. 1997).
The article continues on
Senior IDF officials have promised Lahad that he and his men will be taken care of in any agreement that Israel reaches with Lebanon. They intend to insure that the SLA would be absorbed into the Lebanese army. This is also the position of the French, which would be involved in any agreement in Lebanon, according to a senior French official (25 Dec. 1997).
This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum.
References
Journalist, Daily Star and The Lebanon Report, Beirut. 25 September 1998. Telephone interview.
Director, Centre For Lebanese Studies, Oxford, England. 28 September 1998. Telephone interview.
Haaretz [Tel Aviv]. 5 July 1998. Moshe Reinfeld. "SLA Leader Said to Have Israeli Passport." [Internet] < http://www.3.haaretz.coil/eng/scripts/ > [Accessed on 25 Sept. 1998]
_____. 25 December 1997. Nitzan Horowitz. "SLA Officers Leaving for the West." ." [Internet] < http://www.3.haaretz.coil/eng/scripts/ > [Accessed on 25 Sept. 1998]
The Jerusalem Post. 31 July 1998. Arieh O'Sullivan. "Fighting Against Time." (NEXIS)
The Lebanon Report (Beirut(. Spring 1998. No. 1. Nicholas Blanford. "The Economy, Infrastructure and Administration of the Israeli Controlled Area (ICA) in South Lebanon".
