TEL AVIV, Jan 23: Tensions rose again in the Middle East on Wednesday after the death of two Israeli women wounded in a shooting in occupied Al Quds and with hostilities erupting on the Lebanon front as Hezbollah guerillas fired rockets and mortars on Israeli positions, triggering a swift Israeli response.

But in Paris the speakers of the Israeli and Palestinian parliaments shook hands, while Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres put Israel’s case before the Council of Europe in Strasbourg.

Israeli security forces were on top alert across the country after military intelligence chief Major General Aharon Zeevi warned on Tuesday Israel was facing a new bout of attacks on its cities worse than any in the past.

But the only strike following Tuesday’s bloodshed came from Lebanon, where the disputed border, which has been quiet for months, suddenly exploded with Hezbollah mortar and rocket fire on the Shebaa Farms, captured by Israel from Syria in 1967 and now claimed by Lebanon with Syrian consent.

Israel retaliated with missile strikes by warplanes and artillery shelling, Lebanese security services said.

Israeli Defence Minister Binyamin Ben Eliezer branded the assault “very dangerous” and alleged Iran and Syria had given the Hezbollah the green light.

A series of attacks and retaliatory strikes have undermined a ceasefire call last month by Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, trapped by Israel in the West Bank town of Ramallah.—AFP