Israeli ‘eyes’ fixed on Lebanon

Press TV

January 6, 2009

 

Tel Aviv has warned Hezbollah against intervening in the war on Gaza after Israeli fighter jets conducted overflights into Lebanon.

In a veiled reference to Hezbollah on Tuesday, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said Tel Aviv is on high alert to respond to any threat coming from its northern fronts.

"Let it be clear, we will make no compromise on our security… No one should get the wrong impression over our determination and our alertness on any front. We are not afraid of any confrontation or threat," Olmert said.

"We truly hope that no one will put us to the test," he added.

Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak also issued a strong warning to Hezbollah.

"Our eyes are also on events up north…We are ready, waiting and following all developments," he said.

His comments come after Israeli fighter jets conducted an overflight in Lebanese skies in what has been described by some as an attempt to provoke the Lebanese Hezbollah to intervene in the war on Gaza.

Tel Aviv waged war on the Gaza Strip on December 27 and began what it claims is a "long-lasting" ground invasion of the area on Saturday night.

Lebanon's Information Minister Tarek Mitri made clear on Tuesday that Hezbollah would not get involved in the most recent Israeli war. "We have not received from Hezbollah any sign that they will risk dragging Lebanon into this conflict."

He, however, warned that if the conflict in Gaza carries on and casualties mount, there could be an escalation and "spillover of the violence".

"The more there is a delay for the international community to act, the more there is anger…..Whether this would lead Hezbollah to react, I don't know," he said.

Hezbollah has reportedly doubled its military might since its victory over Tel Aviv in the 33-day Israeli war against Lebanon in July 2006.

Israel fought a 33-day war against Hezbollah in the summer of 2006 to destroy the military power of the Lebanese resistance group. According to a recently published Winograd report, the attack backfired and wreaked a humiliating defeat on Israel.

In a recent report, the Washington Institute for Near East Policy revealed that a third military conflict between Lebanon's Hezbollah and Israel is likely to happen in the near future.

 

Hezbollah on full alert in wake of Gaza war

Press TV

January 6, 2009

 

Hezbollah has stepped up security measures on the Lebanese border in response to the full-scale Israeli incursion into the Gaza Strip.

Citing an unnamed Lebanese official, the London-based Arabic-language newspaper Al-Hayat reported Tuesday that the Lebanese resistance is fully prepared not to allow "Israel a chance to avenge its defeat in the July 2006 war and has therefore raised its alert level for defense purposes."

Israel is expected to take advantage of the transition in the White House "to embark on a new adventure" and change the status quo on the Lebanese border, the Al-Hayat report adds.

In a recent report, the Washington Institute for Near East Policy revealed that Israel's determination to curb Hezbollah's military and political prowess has strengthened the likelihood of another Israel-Lebanon war.

Earlier on Tuesday, the Lebanese army announced that at least six Israeli warplanes had flown over several regions of the country in violation of the UN Security Council Resolution 1701, which put an end to the 33-day war in the summer of 2006.

The Israeli overflights come as Israel has called up thousands of its reserve troops and put some of them along its northern border with Lebanon earlier this week.

Author of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy report Nicholas Blanford told Press TV correspondent Ali Rizk in an October interview that UN Resolution 1701, which ended the second Israeli war on Lebanon, would never be sufficient to maintain calm.

"Yes, 1701 stopped the war obviously in 2006. It stopped the fighting. I mean it saved the Israelis, the Israelis were obviously in deep trouble as various internal investigations and reports and commissions have elaborated," said Blanford.

"It was kind of an unfinished war in many respects. Hezbollah, for their part, recognized Israeli unease and unhappiness with the outcome of the war," he continued.

According to Blanford, the US presidential elections as well as the upcoming elections in Israel, Lebanon, Iraq and Iran are key political developments that could easily 'trigger a war'.

Other political analysts also believe that a third Israeli war against Lebanon may be in the offing.

"This is not the first time that the Israelis threaten Lebanon. There have been a lot of threats ever since the end of the July war in 2006 and its humiliating defeat has been a blow to the whole Israeli military institution," says political analyst Ibrahim Moussawi.

While Israel claims it has no intention to open another front during its war on the Gaza Strip, Hezbollah has announced that the Lebanese nation must maintain vigilance and be prepared to repel any possible attack by Tel Aviv.

Hezbollah has, however, dismissed Israeli allegations that it has plans to go to war with Israel.