Israel Matzav

Israel's border with Lebanon heats up

Sunday is Lebanon's Independence Day, and the country's leadership has seen fit to celebrate the occasion by heating up the border with Israel. On Saturday, Lebanese newspaper Al-Quds Al-Arabi reported that Lebanon's army commander instructed his troops to raise the alert level along the border in preparation for an attack by the 'Israeli enemy.'

In a statement published ahead of Lebanon's independence day, which will take place on Sunday, the Lebanese military chief called for "greater vigilance" on the border "to counter the planned attacks by the Israeli enemy against the homeland."

All the available options must be used to address Israel's violations of the country's sovereignty "land, sea and air," Kahwaji said.

He asked the army to stand by the Lebanese people "to support their steadfastness on their land" and stressed Lebanon's right to the "liberation of its land still under occupation in the Sheba Farms, and the villages of Shuba and Ghajar."

Kahwaji also urged his troops to "cooperate with the international forces in implementation of Security Council Resolution 1701."

In a possible allusion to those who cooperate with Israel, Kahwaji urged the military to "make the utmost possible to reassure the citizens to their lives and livelihoods and continue in pursuit of terrorists, criminals and all those who undermine the country's security."

Last week, a Lebanese military court sentenced a soldier and his wife to death for 'collaborating' with Israel. The soldier's sister and her husband were also sentenced to death, but they purportedly live in Israel.

Isn't it great that Hezbullah is part of the Lebanese government?

Lebanon's army immediately acted upon Kahwaji's request, reporting on Saturday afternoon that it had fired on an Israeli drone.

Lebanon's army said it opened fire on an Israeli unmanned aerial vehicle on Saturday afternoon, forcing the drone to leave Lebanese airspace amid rising tensions between the neighbors.

According to the report, the drone had been flying above the southern Lebanese village of Bint Jbail, where Israel Defense Forces troops engaged Hezbollah guerillas in a fierce battle during the 2006 Second Lebanon War.

After troops directed anti-aircraft fire at the unmanned aerial vehicle, the Lebanese army said, the drone rose to a higher altitude and then left Lebanese airspace.

No word on whether there has been an Israeli reaction to the report.

Michael Totten reports that the next war between Israel and Lebanon will be worse for both sides than the previous war was:

Hezbollah is much more dangerous than any terrorist group that has ever been fielded from the West Bank or Gaza. It managed to create hundreds of thousands of refugees inside Israel, and it did so with fewer and shorter range rockets than it has now. And while the "Party of God" may think it's terrific that it can do what Hamas in Gaza only fantasizes about, its arsenal indirectly threatens Lebanon just as much if not more than it threatens Israel. Nasrallah can unleash a great deal of destruction, but it's still no match for what the IDF can dish out while fighting back.

If Israel's nuclear power plant comes under fire, if Tel Aviv skyscrapers explode from missile attacks, if Hezbollah manages to turn all of Israel into a kill zone where there is no place to run, Israelis will panic like they haven't since the 1973 Yom Kippur War when it briefly appeared the Egyptian army might overrun the whole country. I wouldn't want to be anywhere in Lebanon while Israelis are actively fending off that kind of assault. No country can afford to be restrained while fighting for its survival.

The last Lebanon caught almost everyone by surprise, although it should not have. The next one might start much the same way because few seem to be taking its likelihood or its potential magnitude seriously.

It's possible that a "balance of terror" on each side of the border will prevent anyone from doing anything stupid, but I wouldn't count on it. Hezbollah's rhetoric is more belligerent this year than ever. Not only does Nasrallah threaten to avenge the assassination of his military commander Imad Mugniyeh, he and the rest of the leadership fantasize in public about nuclear war.

And Hezbullah's supporters are thrilled at the prospect. Read the whole thing.

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 7:11 PM