"Israel" Panics at Hizbullah Gaining Strength
Source: Al-Manar TV, 10-07-2008
Two years after the Second Lebanon War, and a day following an ‘Israeli' security cabinet meeting on Hizbullah's current strength and the implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1701, the Zionist entity said that the Lebanese resistance group was rearming at dizzying pace.
‘Israeli' government sources said Wednesday that there are some 2,500 non-uniformed Hizbullah resistance fighters in southern Lebanon, and the organization has trebled its pre-war missile arsenal.
According to the sources, Hizbullah today has some 40,000 short and medium-range missiles inside Lebanon, and UN Security Council Resolution 1701 has been completely ineffective in stopping arms from pouring in to Hizbullah from Syria.
The vast majority of the missiles are north of the Litani River, but can still "blanket" the northern part of occupied Palestine, the sources said. The ‘Israeli' security cabinet meeting came as the government is apparently trying to place the implementation of 1701 back on the international agenda.
The ministers heard three hours of briefings from Military Intelligence, Mossad and General Security Services representatives, before the meeting was cut short to enable the ministers to attend debates in the Knesset. The security cabinet discussion, which had been planned for a number of weeks, is scheduled to continue in the coming weeks.
‘Israeli' Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni raised the failure to implement 1701 on Tuesday with visiting Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini, whose country currently commands the UNIFIL forces.
‘Israeli' War Minister Ehud Barak also joined the fray, and called French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner Tuesday night to discuss the issue. He said he plans to bring the matter up with other European foreign ministers before the upcoming Mediterranean Union meeting in Paris on Sunday, which Syrian President Basshar Assad, as well as the new Lebanese President Michel Suleiman, are scheduled to attend.
Barak, according to a statement put out by his office, told Kouchner that "'Israel' will not be able to accept the ongoing and growing undercutting of UN Security Council Resolution 1701, which is not being implemented, and the continued smuggling of all types of weapons into Lebanon.
Barak told Kouchner that ‘Israel' expected him to act to halt the transfer of arms from Syria to Hizbullah, adding that the UNIFIL force operating in Lebanon must increase its efforts against Hizbullah's growing armament and fortification.
‘Israeli' diplomatic sources, however, said they doubted French President Nicolas Sarkozy would place much pressure on Assad over this matter at their scheduled meeting in Paris on Saturday, because Europe is presently "hugging Assad, not scolding him."
The sources denied, however, that the ‘Israeli' government's sudden public surge of attention on 1701 had to do with Saturday's second anniversary of the Second Lebanon War, and an interest in showing activity on the issue amid what is expected to be a wave of media reports over the weekend looking at the situation in Lebanon two years after the war.
"There is a serious objective problem," one official said. "The problem is real."
Two years after the Second Lebanon War, and a day following an ‘Israeli' security cabinet meeting on Hizbullah's current strength and the implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1701, the Zionist entity said that the Lebanese resistance group was rearming at dizzying pace.
‘Israeli' government sources said Wednesday that there are some 2,500 non-uniformed Hizbullah resistance fighters in southern Lebanon, and the organization has trebled its pre-war missile arsenal.
According to the sources, Hizbullah today has some 40,000 short and medium-range missiles inside Lebanon, and UN Security Council Resolution 1701 has been completely ineffective in stopping arms from pouring in to Hizbullah from Syria.
The vast majority of the missiles are north of the Litani River, but can still "blanket" the northern part of occupied Palestine, the sources said. The ‘Israeli' security cabinet meeting came as the government is apparently trying to place the implementation of 1701 back on the international agenda.
The ministers heard three hours of briefings from Military Intelligence, Mossad and General Security Services representatives, before the meeting was cut short to enable the ministers to attend debates in the Knesset. The security cabinet discussion, which had been planned for a number of weeks, is scheduled to continue in the coming weeks.
‘Israeli' Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni raised the failure to implement 1701 on Tuesday with visiting Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini, whose country currently commands the UNIFIL forces.
‘Israeli' War Minister Ehud Barak also joined the fray, and called French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner Tuesday night to discuss the issue. He said he plans to bring the matter up with other European foreign ministers before the upcoming Mediterranean Union meeting in Paris on Sunday, which Syrian President Basshar Assad, as well as the new Lebanese President Michel Suleiman, are scheduled to attend.
Barak, according to a statement put out by his office, told Kouchner that "'Israel' will not be able to accept the ongoing and growing undercutting of UN Security Council Resolution 1701, which is not being implemented, and the continued smuggling of all types of weapons into Lebanon.
Barak told Kouchner that ‘Israel' expected him to act to halt the transfer of arms from Syria to Hizbullah, adding that the UNIFIL force operating in Lebanon must increase its efforts against Hizbullah's growing armament and fortification.
‘Israeli' diplomatic sources, however, said they doubted French President Nicolas Sarkozy would place much pressure on Assad over this matter at their scheduled meeting in Paris on Saturday, because Europe is presently "hugging Assad, not scolding him."
The sources denied, however, that the ‘Israeli' government's sudden public surge of attention on 1701 had to do with Saturday's second anniversary of the Second Lebanon War, and an interest in showing activity on the issue amid what is expected to be a wave of media reports over the weekend looking at the situation in Lebanon two years after the war.
"There is a serious objective problem," one official said. "The problem is real."
