Sunday 9 November 2008

Israel Sets New Rules on Lebanon Targets


Source

Mohamad Shmaysani
Readers Number : 321




08/11/2008

In any future conflict with Hezbollah, Israel will likely target Lebanon's entire infrastructure, Israeli government sources have told The Jerusalem Post.

According to the paper, in the Second Lebanon War, the IAF did target some of Lebanon's infrastructure but was asked to stop by the US and others.

According to assessments in Israel, Hezbollah’s influence over Lebanese politics is expected to grow, and it is set to gain at least two more cabinet posts in elections next spring - likely the Interior Ministry and, as a remote possibility, the defense portfolio, The Jerusalem Post said.

It said it had learned that “Hezbollah is four times stronger militarily today than it was at the end of the last Lebanon war. In August 2006 Hezbollah had 14,000 rockets, with Hadera being the southernmost city within their range. Two years after the war, Hezbollah has some 40,000 rockets and Dimona (with its nuclear reactor), Yeroham and Arad, all in the Negev, are at risk.”

According to assessments in Jerusalem cited by the Post, “should the next Lebanese defense minister be a member of Hezbollah or from a Hezbollah-affiliated party, Israel could argue that there is no difference between the Lebanese army and Hezbollah, and act accordingly.”

Hezbollah and the opposition maintain that its form of "resistance" is the best means of maintaining Lebanese sovereignty against any aggression. While Hezbollah accepts having close coordination with the Lebanese army, it insisted on preserving its autonomy and thus a separate chain of command to fight against Israel, a western journalist based in Lebanon told the paper.