Israel Matzav

Hezbullah building new bases in southern Lebanon, eastern Bekaa

The facility near Janta includes a suspected driver training course, a 100-meter firing range and a possible urban terrain assault course, according to imagery analysts and European intelligence officials who first noticed the unusual hillside markings in 2008.

Google Earth images also reveal considerable – and surprisingly overt – construction activity in sealed-off Hezbollah security pockets in southern Lebanon, particularly in the hills south of Jezzine, which became the group’s main line of defense following the 2006 war with Israel and subsequent redeployment from the U.N. Interim Force in Lebanon-patrolled border district.

The scale of the activity hints at the enormous efforts Hezbollah has undertaken since the 2006 war to prepare itself for the possibility of another conflict with Israel. But the construction work also raises questions as to the purpose of these facilities, which are easily visible to Israel’s near daily aerial reconnaissance violations as well as to satellite surveillance by Western nations and now to anyone with Google Earth installed on their computer, assuming they know where to look.

Labels: Hezbullah, Lebanon

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 3:07 PM