On the 20^th anniversary of U.N Security Council Resolution 425, which ordered Israel to remove its army from all areas of Lebanon, the Communist Party of Israel reiterates the demand for the Netanyahu government to immediately implement this resolution.

The disaster that is inherent in the prolonged occupation of South Lebanon, including wars, bloody clashes, casualties from among the Lebanese civilian population and casualties among Israeli forces have motivated additional groups, including the ''Four Mothers'', to adopt the demand for the immediate withdrawal of the Israeli army from all of Lebanon.

In an attempt to ignore the increasing pressure to withdraw from Lebanon, the Netanyahu government is publicizing proposals aimed solely at dazzling the eye: the proposal of Minister Sharon, which is in fact a plot to re-occupy Lebanon and destroy its infrastructure; and the proposal of Minister Mordechai, who wants to force on the Lebanese government undertakings that are not included in the Security Council resolution, and isolating these from the negotiations on a political settlement.

The Netanyahu government does not seriously intend to remove the Israeli army from Lebanon. The international propaganda campaign highlighting Minister Mordechai's proposal is designed to create an illusion of progress, yet at the same time Netanyahu staunchly refuses to renew the peace negotiations with Syria at the place that they were suspended during the term of the Rabin administration. This propaganda campaign is intended to create a smokescreen, that will conceal the responsibility of the Netanyahu government for the disastrous standstill in the political process with the Palestinian Authority and the continued expansion of the settlements.

The deliberate shooting by soldiers at the Tarkumiya roadblock, which killed three Palestinian workers from Dura, and the settlers' provocations in Hebron, are the result of the policy of occupation, to which the Netanyahu government adheres. The plans to implement the Israeli army's withdrawal from the West Bank, which were recently publicized by the European Union and the USA, indicate that even the allies of the Netanyahu government have clear reservations concerning its destructive policy towards the Palestinians.

The CPI Political Bureau, which unreservedly supports the immediate withdrawal of the Israeli army from Lebanon and public activity for advancing this goal, once again warns of the grave results of Netanyahu's refusal to implement the interim agreement in letter and spirit, to halt all construction in settlements and to promptly withdraw from all Palestinian territories.

Haifa, March 20, 1998