’Israeli’ Army to Soldiers: Beware Strong Hizbullah Watching US

Local Editor

The "Israeli" army's concern with Hizbullah's readiness forms a repeated headline to the "Israeli" dailies.

In its Monday edition, the "Israeli" Ynet daily reported that the "Israeli" army recently shown its soldiers manning the northern border a peculiar set of pictures - Hizbullah resistance men, in full regalia, armed with proper military equipment, carefully watching and documenting the "Israeli" army's movements.

"This is a group that is compulsive in its data collection regarding the "Israeli" army's movements," a senior ranking officer from the northern command told Ynet in regards to Hizbullah.

He further stated: "They show up on the border with new vehicles and fully
uniformed; they set up a camera and advanced night vision equipment, and follow our troop's every movement. This not necessarily a violation, and Lebanon's army does not confront them, but we try to break our routine as much as possible."

"Hizbullah is beginning to feel more comfortable and has begun pushing the boundaries. It has recently begun to fortify its villages as well as reconstructing firing positions and infrastructure," he noted.

In parallel, the daily commented that "the challenge facing the division's commanders - commands who faced heavy criticism for their conduct in the kidnappings and events prior to the Second Lebanon War - is how to keep soldiers alert despite the relative calm and picturesque landscapes of the north."
"The "Herev" [Sword] brigade, which is charged with manning the Lebanese border, completed a major drill this week simulating a direct conflict with Hizbullah," it added.

"At 2 am senior officers threw (lower ranking) regional commanders from their beds and informed them that their positions are taking fire, there are heavy causalities and that they have lost communications with one of their outpost - go!" a senior commander in charge of the drills told "Ynet".

During the exercise they were forced to face off against soldiers from the "Kfir" brigade pretending to be Hizbullah fighters. The exercise itself seemed real enough, with smoke screens, plastic bullets and mock rocket launchers.

Lieutenant-Colonel Shadi Abu Fares, the brigade's commander said: "We know Hizbullah is getting stronger and bolder. To preserve the operational [adrenaline] we strive to create quality operational exercises" allowing soldiers to engage even after they have been spotted by Hizbullah scouts.

Source: Ynet, Edited by website team