Hizbollah again
The northern border saw an upsurge of military activity last week. It was initiated by Hizbollah firing rockets and mortars over the border either because of the killing of the Islamic Jihad leader in S. Lebanon or because it coincided with the 6th anniversary of the "expulsion" (in their minds) of Israel from S. Lebanon (except for the tiny Shabaa farms area, that is really part of Syria, as acknowledged by the UN). The deepest penetration into Israel was at Mt. Meron where a rocket fell that had apparently been fired by Islamic Jihad operatives.
Israel responded strongly, both destroying several Hizbollah positions, and attacking two PFLP camps, one in the Bekaa Valley and one near Sidon. Also, through intermediaries, Israel let it be known to the Lebanese Government that they considered it responsible for its territory and if attacks continued then the IAF would fly missions against Beirut and N. Lebanon. This brought an immediate ceasefire.
Many analysts felt that Hizbollah over-played their hand, first because they are allies of the Syrians, and the Syrians are very unpopular in Lebanon right now, and further because it gave Israel an excuse to go to the UN and claim that the Lebanese Government is not controlling its own territory in S. Lebanon and that Hizbollah is the only independent militia remaining from the Civil War, and that it should be disarmed, just as the others were many years ago.
There is in fact an upsurge of opinion in Lebanon, particularly among the Christian population, that Hizbollah has outlived its usefulness, that its main raison d'etre is to attack Israel, and that this brings such strong Israeli retaliation, that it is not worth it. Of course, everyone knows that the Shabaa Farms is indeed a trivial excuse for Hizbollah and its Iranian Shi'ite patrons to use to punish Israel. But, it seems to have out-lived its relevance to the newly independent Lebanon, where the writ of Syria no longer controls the show.
Although some people in N. Israel spent one night in the shelters, it seems that the strong Israeli response shook some up on the other side, and it is unlikely that they will repeat this muscle flexing any time soon. Meanwhile the IDF made its deepest penetration into Gaza since the disengagement and killed 3 terrorists on their way to fire rockets into Israel. Four other fugitives and terrorists were also killed in the past few days in the West Bank
Israel responded strongly, both destroying several Hizbollah positions, and attacking two PFLP camps, one in the Bekaa Valley and one near Sidon. Also, through intermediaries, Israel let it be known to the Lebanese Government that they considered it responsible for its territory and if attacks continued then the IAF would fly missions against Beirut and N. Lebanon. This brought an immediate ceasefire.
Many analysts felt that Hizbollah over-played their hand, first because they are allies of the Syrians, and the Syrians are very unpopular in Lebanon right now, and further because it gave Israel an excuse to go to the UN and claim that the Lebanese Government is not controlling its own territory in S. Lebanon and that Hizbollah is the only independent militia remaining from the Civil War, and that it should be disarmed, just as the others were many years ago.
There is in fact an upsurge of opinion in Lebanon, particularly among the Christian population, that Hizbollah has outlived its usefulness, that its main raison d'etre is to attack Israel, and that this brings such strong Israeli retaliation, that it is not worth it. Of course, everyone knows that the Shabaa Farms is indeed a trivial excuse for Hizbollah and its Iranian Shi'ite patrons to use to punish Israel. But, it seems to have out-lived its relevance to the newly independent Lebanon, where the writ of Syria no longer controls the show.
Although some people in N. Israel spent one night in the shelters, it seems that the strong Israeli response shook some up on the other side, and it is unlikely that they will repeat this muscle flexing any time soon. Meanwhile the IDF made its deepest penetration into Gaza since the disengagement and killed 3 terrorists on their way to fire rockets into Israel. Four other fugitives and terrorists were also killed in the past few days in the West Bank
posted by Jack Cohen at 6:50 PM
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