An Edgy Cease-Fire

"One false step and the whole damned thing blows up "

The guns fell silent in southern Lebanon last week, but no one could guess for how long. Under intense pressure from Washington, Jerusalem agreed to a ceasefire worked out by the U.S., and pulled its troops, trucks and armored personnel carriers back behind the Israeli border. There they remained poised, as an Israeli army officer put it, "ten minutes from the Christian enclave," should fighting resume between the Christian forces and their Palestinian enemies. Said Israeli Defense Minister Ezer Weizman, who had inspected the Israeli forces: "I am keeping my fingers crossed, praying that [the ceasefire] will hold. But if the P.L.O. orders its units to open fire again or does not achieve a quick, solid and satisfying solution, we will return and clean up the area."

American officials admitted that they had put "tough" pressure on Israel to withdraw, but denied rumors that Washington had threatened to hold up arms supplies. The first U.S. message to Israel to get out was sent on Sept. 18, two days after the intervention. Next day President Carter and Secretary of State Cyrus Vance told visiting Israeli Foreign Minister Moshe Dayan that Israeli units had to withdraw. When the Israelis ignored the demands, one senior Middle East expert explained, "We had to get very deeply involved in pushing for a pullback and cease-fire." Specifically, Washington complained to Jerusalem that American-made weapons were being used illegally in southern Lebanon.

In Beirut, U.S. Ambassador Richard Parker handled the complex negotiations involving the Christians, the Syrian army stationed in Lebanon, and the Lebanese government. The Christians passed along Parker's cease-fire agreements to the Israelis, who delivered them to the embattled Christian military leaders in the south. The Syrians did the same for the P.L.O. "Neither Israel nor the P.L.O. is directly mentioned in the documents," said an official in Tel Aviv. "But it is obvious to all the parties that they are the most important elements in keeping or breaking the cease-fire."

In Lebanon, where unanimity on any issue is rare, the cease-fire was greeted with rejoicing. President Elias Sarkis said he hoped soon to have the new Lebanese army, which has been trained for peace keeping, in the south to maintain peace. The cease-fire was also approved by Camille Chamoun, leader of the rightist Lebanese Front and the grand old man of the Christian side. For his part, P.L.O.

Chairman Yasser Arafat promised that his men would not betray the agreement. Said Arafat: "We are prepared to assist the Lebanese army in taking up positions in southern Lebanon."

The key question now is whether the cease-fire can be extended long enough to bring peace to an embattled area that has been turned into a no man's land by the on-again, off-again fighting. Correspondent Dean Brelis and TIME'S Abu Said Abu Rish toured southern Lebanon last week. Their report:

The final Syrian checkpoint is at Zahrani, twelve miles north of the Litani River. There a large color poster of President Hafez Assad beams down at the red-bereted paratroopers. South of the checkpoint the road is deserted. The fields are desolate, showing no sign of care or life. Even the crows have flown to richer lands.

Lebanese leftist troops guard the bridge over the Litani, a slow-flowing, dark green stream. No sign or marker indicates that this is the "red line"; the Israelis have warned the Syrians to stay north of it. Beyond doubt, the Syrians are heeding the warning. The Lebanese troops, young, unshaven, carefully check the trunk of our car. Satisfied, they wave us on with a tired look in their eyes.

The silence is eerie. Shell holes seem a natural part of the land. They are everywhere, vivid as footsteps in snow, unmistakable evidence that the Israeli 175-mm. artillery guns have been put to frequent use. According to people who fled the area, there were few civilian deaths. Refugees said they were not bombed as they fled north on the road.

Some thought the Israeli planes overhead provided a form of protection.

Behind them the refugees left scores of deserted villages and towns. There is no sign of the small farmers who used to make a decent living growing tobacco and olives. Now it is an area caught in a strange, static war, with Israeli armor and infantry crossing over to help the Christians fight the Palestinians. No land has been taken by either side. Nor has there been any formal battle, with a winner and a loser.

The latest fighting centered on the village of Khiyam, where the Palestinians have built a deep, sophisticated complex of bunkers. It can be extremely costly to attack, as the Israelis discovered.

No matter how much artillery fire they poured into Khiyam--and the bombardment reached a thousand rounds a day --the Israelis could not dislodge the defenders. At the height of the action, 200 Israelis faced about the same number of Palestinians. Both sides fought bravely, but on that battleground the Israelis would have needed a lot more soldiers than they had to dislodge the Palestinians.

There are 5,500 Palestinians in the south, and they are Arafat's best soldiers. The Christian troops number fewer than 600, backed up by 300 to 400 militiamen. The Christian commanders admit that without Israeli help they would be no match for the Palestinian forces.

When the Christians first made known their friendship for and cooperation with Israel, the Syrians closed the overland route from Christian-controlled sectors in northern Lebanon to the Christians in the south. The only way these forces are supplied today is directly from Israel.

Meanwhile, the Syrians have looked the other way as the Palestinian command in West Beirut sent troops, ammunition and food supplies south across the Litani River. One of the Christians' goals in the recent fighting was to break out a route to the sea and establish a base near the Israeli border to receive supplies by ship from Jounieh in the north. That failed.

When the cease-fire came last week, all sides were happy about it. Palestinian fighters were being rotated out of the south in small groups for a few days of R. and R. P.L.O. military vehicles moved about under the observation of Christian artillery spotters but did not draw fire.

The crunch of mortars was replaced by Arabic song, played loudly on transistor radios. Men cleaned weapons and hummed along with the music. Open fires crackled and hot meals were available.

A group stood in the sunlight as a friend captured the moment with a snapshot.

There have been at least 70 cease-fires in the past 2% years in Lebanon, and nobody is betting on how long the latest one will last. The status of the forces has not changed. The only difference is that the Israelis are back in their own country. But they can cross the frontier again any time they think it necessary. No trooper on either the Christian or the Palestinian side is packing his gear and pulling out.

When the Lebanese army arrives--that could take two to three weeks--three battalions of 350 men each will patrol a six-mile-wide zone along the Israeli border. They will man checkpoints and replace P.L.O. combatants in that area. The agreement is that the Palestinians will then pull back to the Litani; they say they will obey the rules. After all, they point out, it was the Palestinians who first suggested the new arrangement in the south several months ago.

The Lebanese battalions are now going through the last phase of their training prior to moving south. Two of them are mixed units of Muslims and Christians, while the third is entirely Christian. Says the commander, Brigadier Victor Khoury: "It will be like walking through a minefield. One false step and the whole damned thing blows up."

In fact it may be years before southern Lebanon is again an area where fields can flourish and people can go about their daily lives without looking up and seeing artillery on the stony ridges around them. Already, though, a few people are going back to look over their houses--or what is left of them. They are not sure they will stay, but, if the weather permits, they will let their children swim in the Litani River, just as they used to in better days.

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