Word: israel
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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...Israeli prime minister Ehud Barak promised to pull Israel out of its Lebanon quagmire in a year; Israel's local proxy army may not wait that long. The South Lebanon Army, which was created by Israel in 1985 to help patrol its self-declared "security zone" inside southern Lebanon, withdrew from the Jezzine enclave Monday, under fire from Hezbollah guerrillas as they went. With the local SLA commander acknowledging that the withdrawal was prompted by mounting casualties at the hands of Hezbollah, the retreat is a significant victory for the Iran-backed movement's protracted war of attrition. Israel...
Monday's retreat signals mounting panic in the ranks of the SLA, which effectively has been put on notice that their protector will be leaving town. More troubling for Israel is that neither Syria nor Lebanon -- neither of whom are fans of the Hezbollah -- is in any rush to fill the resulting security vacuum. There's little enthusiasm in Beirut for helping the Israelis out of what is perceived as a mess of their own making. And any security deal would have to be approved by Syria, which holds a de facto military veto power over the decisions...
Netanyahu's once solid lead among the Russians began to unravel the moment Sharansky's immigrant party, Yisrael Ba'aliya, unveiled its TV ads. They steadfastly focused on winning control of the Interior Ministry, which determines who can immigrate to Israel and with what rights. The ultra-Orthodox have long controlled the ministry, notoriously harassing Russian immigrants by questioning their Jewish bona fides...
...months ago, Israel's former army chief, AMNON LIPKIN-SHAHAK, was putting himself forward as a future Prime Minister. Though his candidacy quickly flopped, the retired general may be up for a lesser but still desirable job: ambassador...
Lipkin-Shahak's would-be host seems to be in his corner. "From Washington, he looks good," says a State Department official. As military chief he gained considerable experience working with the Americans. The U.S. likes the idea of resuming land-for-peace negotiations between Israel and Syria at the ambassadorial level in Washington. "Lipkin-Shahak knows the issues, has the credibility and knows how to keep a secret," says the State Department source. Plus, if talks between the two nations take place in Washington, the U.S. remains fully in the picture and positioned to claim a foreign policy coup...