Talk to an Israeli, go to prison

A Lebanese general was arrested on Wednesday for appearing in a videotape drinking tea with Israeli soldiers who had occupied his south Lebanon barracks during their incursion of the country.

Brig Adnan Daoud was summoned and ordered held for questioning, interior minister Ahmed Fatfat said in a statement. Daoud is commanding officer of the 1 000-strong joint police-army force that had positions in southern Lebanon and was based in Marjayoun.

Israeli troops seized the barracks there last week and held him and 350 soldiers for a day before allowing them to leave the occupied zone. The Lebanese garrison, which is lightly armed, did not resist the Israeli force which moved in armour into the base.

In the videotape, aired on Israeli television and carried by a Lebanese TV station on Wednesday, Daoud was shown having tea with smiling Israeli soldiers and walking with them in the base courtyard.

Lebanon is in a state of war with Israel. Any contact with the Jewish state is punishable by a prison term.

So, are we going to be hearing from Human Rights Watch or Amnesty International about human-rights violations?