«Israel» Cautious about New Lebanese President

Local Editor

It took nearly two years, but Lebanon finally has a new President: "Hizbullah-friendly" Michel Aoun, as cited by the "Israeli" daily The Jerusalem Post.

The election of the 81-year old retired general is seen by many as a clear victory for the Resistance axis in the Middle East.

One of the first congratulatory phone calls Aoun received after his election was from Iranian President Hassan Rouhani who said that Aoun has been elected at "a time that the region faces the two threats of the growth of Takfiri [apostate] movements and terrorist groups as well as the indulgence of the Zionist regime of ‘Israel'," adding that Iran is "confident" that "Lebanon's resistance front will be strengthened."

Aoun has not forgotten about his southerly neighbor, the "Israeli" entity, vowing to "release what is left of our lands from the ‘Israeli' occupation," words directed towards the Lebanese revolutionary group with whom he entered into an alliance with in 2006 and has backed ever since.

But, according to Michael Horowitz, director of Intelligence at Prime Source, a Middle East based geopolitical consultancy, while Aoun's win "is clearly in Hizbullah's favor".

"Israeli" opposition leader and "Yesh Atid" leader Yair Lapid said that the entity "should worry when Lebanon elects a president backed by Hizbullah."

While the "Israeli" Occupation Forces [IOF] think the group is unlikely to attack the "Israeli" entity in the near future, the border remains explosive due in large part to the ongoing military buildup by Hizbullah.

According to a senior "Israeli" intelligence official, Hizbullah has over 100,000 short-range rockets and several thousand more missiles that can reach central "Israel", including Tel Aviv.

Those missiles, Horowitz told The Jerusalem Post, "could keep ‘Israel' under pressure and economic distress for months..."

In addition to the massive arsenal of rockets and missiles, Hizbullah is able to mobilize close to 30,000 revolutionary fighters and has flouted its tunnel system, complete with ventilation, electricity, and rocket launchers.

Hizbullah fighters are able to watch "Israeli" soldiers at any moment, the daily indicated.

Another area where Hizbullah has a presence is the Palestine-Syria border. And while they have not devoted as much to this border, Aymenn Tamimi, a fellow at the Middle East Forum and researcher at the IDC Herzliya, told the Post that if and when Hizbullah "secures the northern front in Syria, specifically around Aleppo, they could then focus more time and energy" to building up their forces in the Golan."

A statement echoed by Horowitz, who said that Hizbullah has "gained significant military experience in Syria and therefore ‘Israel' would be faced with a force that is capable of waging both guerrilla and asymmetric warfare, as well as more conventional offensives."

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team