Rockets fired from Lebanon into Israel

JERUSALEM -- Militants in Lebanon fired at least two rockets into Israel yesterday, causing no casualties and little damage, but raising the possibility of a new flare-up on the volatile border less than a year after Israel's bloody monthlong war against Hezbollah.

The Lebanese prime minister said the attack was geared at undermining the stability of Lebanon, while the UN condemned it as a serious violation of a cease-fire that ended the conflict last year.

Hezbollah, a Lebanese militant group, denied involvement, and Prime Minister Ehud Olmert of Israel said it was most likely the work of "a small Palestinian movement."

Israel's initial reaction was muted, but security officials were meeting to debate a response.

"We are still clarifying the circumstances," Olmert said in New York, where he was meeting with UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon. "Lebanon has been very quiet in the last nine months and hopefully will continue to be so."

The rockets were the first fired from Lebanon since last summer's war, in which almost 4,000 rockets exploded in Israel. The latest rockets landed in the northern town of Kiryat Shemona, which was hit hard during that conflict.

An official with Olmert indicated Israel would not hit back.

"Israel will not succumb to this provocation but will monitor the situation carefully," the official said, requesting anonymity because of the sensitivity of the situation.

Al-Manar, the Hezbollah TV station in Lebanon, broadcast a denial that Hezbollah was involved.

The Lebanese prime minister, Fuad Saniora, said the attack aimed to destabilize the country by casting doubts about the ability of the army and UN peacekeepers to protect the border zone.

"The state . . . will spare no effort in uncovering those who stand behind this incident, which is aimed at attempting to undermine the stability" of Lebanon, Saniora said in a statement.

A Lebanese security official told the Associated Press that two 107mm rockets were launched using timers from an area between the villages of Adaisseh and Kfar Kila, a few miles from Israel's border. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to the media.

The Lebanese Army said in a statement that three 107mm Katyusha rockets were fired at Israel by "unknown elements" and that a search for the attackers was underway. Troops sent to search the suspected launching area found a fourth rocket equipped with a timer.

Israeli Channel 2 TV's Arab affairs analyst, Ehud Yaari, said a splinter Palestinian group in Lebanon was probably behind the attack. There was no claim of responsibility.

In the past, small Palestinian groups, such as the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, have fired a few rockets at Israel.