Harbor No Evil

Israel has never been in the habit of turning the other cheek to fedayeen raids. Far more customary has been instant retaliation, delivered via ground and air and often focused on the Palestinian refugee camps in Lebanon that have been fertile breeding grounds for fedayeen. But following the June 24 attack on the Israeli seacoast town of Nahariya that cost four Israeli and three Arab commando lives, there was no response--possibly in deference to President Nixon's Moscow trip, possibly because Israeli Defense Minister Shimon Peres was in Washington, D.C., shopping for new weapons.

Last week in an unusual naval operation, the Israelis finally retaliated. Israeli missile boats anchored under cover of night off the Lebanese ports of Tyre, Sidon and Sarafand. An elite crew of frogmen carrying timed explosives swam the two miles to shore and blew up 21 or more Lebanese fishing vessels. A few hours later, the boats sped safely back to Haifa.

Although Lebanese Defense Minister Nasri Maalouf quickly called for the strengthening of his country's armed forces, the raid was considered in Beirut to be not much more than a psy-war gesture. Leaflets scattered by the frogmen admonished Lebanese fishermen against assisting Palestinian guerrillas in launching other seaborne attacks similar to the assault on Nahariya, which Israel believed must have originated in a Lebanese port. "Take this warning to heart before it is too late," the leaflets said in Arabic. "Shun evil. Avoid it at all cost."

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