Persona non grata

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 
 
                  This report was reseached and written by Virginia N. Sherry, associate 
director of the Middle East and North Africa division of Human Rights Watch.    It 
is based primarily on her field research in Lebanon during a mission in March and 
April 1999. The report was edited by Hanny Megally, executive director of the 
Middle East and North Africa division of Human Rights Watch, and Michael 
McClintock, deputy program director of Human Rights Watch.   Wilder Tayler, 
general counsel of Human Rights Watch, also reviewed the report.    Isis Nusair, 
researcher on the Middle East and North Africa with the Women’s Rights 
Division of Human Rights Watch, provided insightful    comments and assistance. 
Noga Kadman, fieldwork and data coordinator at B’Tselem, the Israeli 
information center for human rights in the occupied territories, also read and 
provided helpful  comments and research assistance on sections of the report. 
Elizabeth Mirarchi of the Middle East and North Africa division of Human Rights 
Watch skillfully prepared the manuscript for publication. 
 
         Several dedicated and talented volunteers working with Human Rights 
Watch in New York and Beirut  helped with the preparation of this report.  
Dania Dandashly, an intern in New York, provided invaluable research and 
logistical    assistance prior to the mission.   Erin Sawaya, another intern in New 
York, offered skillful research assistance throughout the post-mission period as 
this report was being prepared.  Cilina Nasser in Beirut was responsible for 
follow-up interviews in Lebanon in May and June 1999, which are cited in this 
report.    During the mission, she also served as an interpreter with skill, patience, 
generosity, and good humor.       
 
         Rita Ayoub, Marwan Slim, Mahmoud Dandashly, and Nadine Hallal in 
Beirut graciously volunteered time during the mission to assist Human Rights 
Watch. Jamal Shahrour and Hussam al-Khalid of the Committee for the Deported 
Families from the Occupied Zone; staff with the Beirut-based social work unit of 
Hizballah; and Ibrahim Qalash and Jamal Mahroum of the National Association 
for Lebanese Detainees in Israeli Prisons also provided generously of their time to 
arrange meetings with expelled families and individuals in Beirut and other cities. 
Yehia Ali of the nongovernmental Arqoub Citizens Committee, and Muhamed 
Safa’ of the nongovernmental Follow-up Committee in Support of Lebanese 
Detainees in Israeli Prisons, also met with and assisted Human Rights Watch.   
 
         Last,  the  author  wishes  to  acknowledge  and  thank  the  courageous 
Lebanese women, children, and men who shared their stories and whose 
testimony made this report possible. We hope that the publication of this report 
will help speed their return to the homes and land they were forced to leave.
 
 
TABLE OF CONTENTS
 

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I.  SUMMARY .................................................................................................... 1 
Testimony from Expelled Lebanese Families .............................................. 2 
Life for Residents of the Occupied Zone ..................................................... 7 
The Israeli Role in the Occupied Zone ........................................................ 8 
 
II. RECOMMENDATIONS ............................................................................... 10 
To the Government of Israel ...................................................................... 10 
To the States that comprise the five-nation Israel Lebanon Monitoring 
Group ................................................................................................... 12 
To the U.N. Secretary-General .................................................................. 12 
To the United States and Member States of the European Union .............. 12 
To the High Contracting Parties of the Geneva Convention ...................... 13 
To the Government of Lebanon ................................................................. 13 
 
III.    THE OCCUPIED ZONE: AN OVERVIEW .............................................. 14 
The Israeli Role in the Zone ....................................................................... 18 
Actions of Israeli Intelligence Officers ...................................................... 21 
Restrictions on Freedom of Movement ...................................................... 27 
Opaque Aspects of Israeli Control ............................................................. 29 
Who Orders the Expulsions?...................................................................... 32 
 
IV.  COLLECTIVE PUNISHMENT ................................................................ 35 
January 1999: Sheba’ ................................................................................. 36 
December 1998: Sheba’ ............................................................................. 38 
October 1998: Hasbaiya and Ibl al-Saqi .................................................... 40 
May 1998: Sheba’ ...................................................................................... 41 
April 1998: Ramieh ................................................................................... 44 
December 1996: Markaba .......................................................................... 45 
December 1988 - January 1989: Kfar Hamam .......................................... 45 
October 1988: Markaba ............................................................................. 47 
 
V.      PUNISHING FLIGHT FROM THE MILITIA .......................................... 51 
1996: Houla ............................................................................................... 54 
1997: Markaba ........................................................................................... 56 
1999: A New Pattern of SLA Defections and Expulsions ......................... 57 
 
VI.  PUNISHING REFUSAL TO SERVE THE OCCUPATION SECURITY 
APPARATUS ............................................................................................ 60 
1985-1992: Kfar Kila ................................................................................. 60 
1989: Markaba ........................................................................................... 62 
 
1998: Khiam .............................................................................................. 63 

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