Persona non grata

The Occupied Zone: An Overview 
37 
 
 
 
Moreover, in April 1998, as noted above, Israel’s Ministerial Committee 
for National Security acknowledged Israel’s control of the occupied zone.    One 
important manifestation of this power    is Israel’s ultimate control of the freedom 
of movement of the zone’s civilian population, although the bureaucratic 
manifestation of such control  has  been left purposefully opaque.  As noted 
above, the movement of residents into and out of the occupied zone is controlled 
through a permit system. These travel documents contain some sections written in 
Hebrew and other sections written in Arabic. (A copy of one of these documents, 
issued in 1998, was obtained by Human Rights Watch and is included in the 
appendix of this report.)  It is striking that nowhere on the permit is there any 
formal identification of the SLA or IDF, although it seems clear that the 
Hebrew-language term “Lebanon Liaison Unit” refers to the IDF Liaison Unit to 
Lebanon, whose functions are described above. The Hebrew stamp over the 
photograph of the bearer of the document reads: “Taibeh, Lebanon Liaison Unit, 
Civil Assistance, Civil Affairs,” indicating perhaps that it was stamped by a 
member of the IDF Liaison unit who was based in Taibeh, a village in the zone 
located south of Marjayoun.       
On another page of the document is a section written in Hebrew that 
reads: “Civil Committee, Markaba, Committee’s signature,” and “Security 
system signature” and “Details of the approver.”  It is followed by  the signature 
of an Israeli military officer, who is identified by name, rank (second lieutenant), 
and a number. The final stamp reads in Hebrew: “Signature of sector, Lebanon 
Liaison Unit, Taibe Sector,” and is not signed. 
On June 7, 1999, Human Rights Watch sent a letter and copy of this 
travel document to Uri Lubrani at Israel’s ministry of defense. We asked him if 
the Hebrew term “Lebanon Liaison Unit” on the document was a reference to the 
IDF Liaison Unit to Lebanon.  We noted in our letter that the document 
contained at least four Hebrew-language rubber stamps, over several of which 
were signatures.   We requested that Mr. Lubrani provide Human Rights Watch 
with information concerning Israel’s role in regulating the movement of Lebanese 
civilians into and out of the zone, as well as its role in the issuance and regulation 
of Arabic- and Hebrew-language identity documents and travel permits for zone 
residents. As of the date of the printing of this report, Human Rights Watch had 
not received a reply to this letter.    The fact that permits required for travel in and 
out of the occupied zone appear to be signed and    “approved” by an IDF liaison 
officer is one of the indicators that Iraeli authorities exercise control over the 
civilian population in the zone. 
       
Who Orders the Expulsions? 

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38 
Persona Non Grata: Expulsions of Civilians from Israeli-Occupied Lebanon 
 
 
 
Because of the lack of a transparent process when expulsions occur in 
the occupied zone, it is difficult if not impossible to document who precisely 
within the various levels of the occupation security apparatus issues the orders to 
expel Lebanese individuals and entire families.  The various actors in  the 
decision-making process leading up to each expulsion have never been publicly 
identified. Nicholas Blanford, a reporter for the English-language Daily Star 
(Beirut) who is an independent and knowledgeable observer of the zone, has 
emphasized that security policies and activities in the zone, with respect to the 
civilian population, are carried out by Israeli security, not military, forces in 
partnership with the SLA:   
 
The IDF sees its role in the occupation zone as combating 
well-trained and motivated armed guerrillas rather than 
containing a hostile civilian population. The IDF plays a strictly 
military role. The policing/security role in the zone is 
undertaken by the SLA and the Israeli [General Security 
Service]. Other than occasional foot patrols, Israeli soldiers are 
rarely seen outside their fortified compounds. The Israelis 
remain aloof from dealing with the civilian population on a 
daily basis; this they leave to the SLA. 
 
Blanford told Human Rights Watch that he had no evidence of  direct Israeli 
involvement in the expulsion of residents of the zone, but added:   
 
They don't need to become directly involved. This is the task of 
the SLA, although the Israelis will at least be aware of any 
expulsion and in most cases will probably have ordered it in the 
first place. Ultimately, the Israelis control every facet of the 
occupation zone either directly or through their client militia.
42
 
 
                                                 
          42         
Private communication received by Human Rights Watch, June 29, 1999. 

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The Occupied Zone: An Overview 
39 
 
 
 
It has typically been SLA militiamen who have transported individuals 
and families    to one of the SLA crossing points at the border of the occupied zone 
and expelled them. In many cases, expellees recounted how local SLA security 
operatives informed them that “the Israelis” had ordered the expulsion. Virtually 
every Lebanese interviewed by Human Rights Watch for this report, including 
senior Lebanese foreign ministry officials, claimed that the SLA carried out 
expulsions based on Israeli orders. One Lebanese foreign ministry official 
knowledgeable about intelligence operations in the zone told Human Rights 
Watch that the military officer who commands the IDF Liaison Unit to Lebanon is 
responsible for decisions in the field of a military nature, while Uri Lubrani, the 
coordinator of activities in Lebanon at Israel’s Ministry of Defense, “makes 
policy,” and has the final word on actions that will have an impact on the civilian 
population in the zone, such as expulsions.   
A member of the Western diplomatic community in Lebanon shared 
these views. He said that Israel has a direct role in most expulsions, and that Uri 
Lubrani’s office makes the final decision on individual cases, based on  
recommendations from Israeli intelligence officers in the field.
43
  Human Rights 
Watch is aware of no official Israeli government statements concerning its 
decision-making role with respect to expulsions although, as noted, Israel’s 
defense minister acknowledged in April 1999 that Israel and the SLA “consult 
together concerning the arrest and release of people in [al-Khiam prison].”
44
   
Uri Lubrani is the former Israeli ambassador to Iran.    The post that he 
currently holds at the defense ministry in Tel Aviv was created in 1983, prompted 
by deep concern about the state of intelligence-gathering in Lebanon, according to 
the leading Israeli daily Ha’aretz:   
 
When Moshe Arens was appointed Defense Minister following 
Ariel Sharon’s resignation [in February 1983], he characterized 
what was going on in Lebanon as “an extraordinary intelligence 
mess” and saw a glaring need for all the various Israeli agencies 
                                                 
          43         
The diplomat noted that the only exceptions have been expulsions that were 
carried out by the SLA to settle intra-Lebanese local scores and were not related to 
Israel’s interests in the occupation zone.  Human Rights Watch interview, Beirut, 
Lebanon, April 1999. 
          44         
Statement of the Minister of Defense, represented by the State Attorney, 
Ministry of Justice, Suleiman Ramadan et. al. v. Minister of Defense, High Court of 
Justice, 1951/99. 

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