Barak Visits Troops, Eases Stance on Syria

Prime Minister Ehud Barak said Israel will punish Lebanese guerrillas for a deadly attack Monday, but he insisted that he will not lose sight of his ultimate goal: peace with Syria. Barak, who flew to Israel’s northern border near the Israeli-occupied security zone in southern Lebanon where three Israeli soldiers were killed, said at an army base: “Those who hit us will not go unpunished.” However, “I do not think that, at this juncture, we should relate it in any direct way to the negotiations with Syria,” he said--a retreat from his call Monday to condition talks on Syria’s willingness to restrain rebels in Lebanon.