Report: IAF struck Hezbullah weapons convoy in Lebanon
Foreign reports indicate that Israel's air force struck a Hezbullah weapons convoy in Lebanon around 3:00 am local time today.
Of course, the IDF has
refused comment.
A monitoring group also reported that a strike took place. Rami Abdel Rahman, the head of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, told the German news agency DPA that Israeli warplanes fired at least six rockets on depots in the area of Qutaifa, north-east of Damascus.
It was not immediately clear if the targeted sites belong to the Syrian army or its allied Lebanese Hezbollah movement, he added.
The reports have not been officially confirmed.
The Israeli army said that the military does not respond to foreign reports.
Hezbullah chieftain Hassan Nasrallah has issued a number of threats against Israel recently, but he's been
warned by Arab states not to try anything. Here's betting that this doesn't draw him out of his bunker either.
Labels: Hassan Nasrallah, Hezbullah, Hezbullah weapons, IAF, weapons shipment
Breaking: IAF jets hit weapons convoy on Syria-Lebanon border
Israeli Air Force jets have attacked a weapons convoy traveling along the Syrian-Lebanese border. The intended recipient of the weapons was
Hezbullah.
The attack allegedly occurred on the Syrian-Lebanese border earlier
in the afternoon and struck a number of vital positions important to the
terror organization.
Citing Arab media reports, Channel 2 said
that the Israeli Air Force struck the weapons convoy near a Syrian
"rebel safe-haven" where Hezbollah militants were allegedly stationed.
If the reports are confirmed, it would not be Israel's first
military excursion into enemy territory to stop the transfer of weapons
to its arch nemesis Hezbollah.
Last month,
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu acknowledged for the first time that
Israel has taken action dozens of times beyond the northern border to
prevent Hezbollah from attaining “game-changing” weaponry.”
Waiting to see if the IAF will try to stop the
transfer of the S-300 anti-missile system to Iran by Russia.
Labels: Hezbullah, Hezbullah weapons, IAF, Lebanon, S-300 missile defense system, Syria, weapons shipment
How convenient: Hezbullah denies Israeli attack
Hezbullah is denying that Israel
attacked one of its weapons facilities in the Bekaa Valley on Monday night, while Israel's Prime Minister is following the country's usual practice of
not commenting. How convenient.
Asked during a joint press conference with visiting German Chancellor Angela Merkel
whether IAF jets were behind the strike, Netanyahu stated, "Our policy
is clear - we will not speak about reports of what we did or didn't do
- but we do all that is necessary in order to defend our citizens."
Hezbollah
denied the airstrike on their television network al-Manar. They said
there had been "no raid on Lebanese territory," reporting only the
"strong presence of enemy planes over the area north of Bekaa" in
eastern Lebanon.
Thus far, the Israeli army has refused to comment on the reports.
Netanyahu
has said repeatedly that Israel would not allow the Syrian regime to
transfer chemical weapons or "game-changing" weapons to Hezbollah in
Lebanon.
Gee, ya think the IAF hit another weapons facility? Maybe the
Obama administration will
tell us.
Labels: Barack Hussein Obama, Bashar al-Assad, Bekaa Valley, Hezbullah, Hezbullah weapons, IAF, Syria
Report: IAF jets attack Hezbullah site on Lebanon-Syria border
Lebanese sources are reporting that
IAF jets have attacked a Hezbullah target on the Lebanese-Syrian border. As of Israel Radio's midnight report, neither the IAF or Hezbullah's al-Manar network had confirmed the report.
The airstrikes killed a number of Hezbollah members, the sources said.
...
Lebanon’s National News Agency (NNA) reported that the Israeli
warplanes launched two raids targeting al-Nabi Shayth, a village located
in Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley near the Syria-Lebanon borders.
NNA
added that there were also “intensive Israeli flights at very low
altitude over the eastern and western mountains chains of Lebanon.”
The
independent Lebanese news channel MTV described the airstrikes as “mock
raids” over Brital, Hor Ti’la, al-Nabi Shayth, al-Khidhar, and Ali
al-Nahri; villages located in the bordering Bekaa valley.
...
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights told Agence France-Presse the target was a Hezbollah “missile base.”
Al
Arabiya’s correspondent citing unconfirmed reports said Hezbollah’s
moving convoy was targeted because it tried to bring ballistic missiles
from Syria to Lebanon.
I would bet on this report being true.
Labels: Bashar al-Assad, Bekaa Valley, Hezbullah, Hezbullah weapons, IAF, Syria
Here we go again: Report claims IAF hits Syrian base in Latakia
Reports coming out of Lebanon claim that the
IAF bombed a Syrian military base in the port city of Latakia on Monday morning.
The Israel Air Force bombed a Syrian base in the Latakia airport in
the north of the country, Lebanese journalists reported Monday morning.
There are currently no other confirmations of this report.
Senior
Israeli officials have clarified on several occasions that Israel will
not allow the transfer of advanced weapons from Syria to Hezbollah,
which they fear will bolster the militant Shi'ite group's ability to
attack Israeli targets.
Two
weeks ago, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hinted that Israel is
operating to thwart the transfer of weapons, even if such reports are
not made public. He was relating specifically to the threat posed by
Hezbollah to Israeli naval ships by precise missiles.
According
to various reports in foreign media, Israel attacked weapons depots in
the Latakia area in the past, though Israel has not confirmed such
reports. Last November, U.S. sources reported that Israel was behind an attack on Russian SA-8 surface-to-air missiles near Latakia.
Heh.
Labels: arms shipments, Hezbullah, Hezbullah weapons, IAF, Latakia, Syrian air space, weapons shipment
Embarrassed? Heck no! They don't think we deserve an answer
Israeli protests to the White House, Pentagon and CIA over US disclosure of Israel's alleged air strike on Latakia, Syria last Thursday have thus far been
met with silence.
Israel’s shocked complaints produced no
American explanation or reaction whatsoever, the report went on, which
Israeli officials ascribe to embarrassment on behalf of the
administration. Israel believes the leaks may be “a consequence of
negligence.”
Jerusalem was said to be baffled as to why the
Americans would repeatedly leak word of Israeli raids in Syria, when
there were all manner of back channels by which the US could convey
concern over such strikes if it wanted to do so. In fact, as far as
Israel is aware, the report said, “the United States does not have
complaints about such Israeli activities.”
Israeli officials stressed that Israel was still not confirming responsibility for the strike last Wednesday.
Israel’s Channel 10 TV on Friday night quoted
Israeli officials branding the American leak as “scandalous.” For
Israel’s ally to act in such a way was “unthinkable,” the officials were
quoted as saying.
A second TV report, on Israel’s Channel 2,
said the leak “came directly from the White House,” and noted that “this
is not the first time” that the administration has compromised Israel
by leaking information on such Israeli Air Force raids on Syrian
targets.
It said some previous leaks were believed to
have come from the Pentagon, and that consideration had been given at
one point to establishing a panel to investigate the sources, but that
Thursday’s leak had come directly from the White House.
Channel 2′s military analyst, Roni Daniel, said the Obama administration’s behavior in leaking the information was unfathomable.
Daniel noted that by keeping silent on whether
it carried out such attacks, Israel was maintaining plausible
deniability, so that Syria’s President Bashar Assad did not feel
pressured to respond to the attacks.
But the US leaks “are pushing Assad closer to
the point where he can’t swallow these attacks, and will respond.” This
in turn would inevitably draw further Israeli action, Daniel posited,
and added bitterly: “Then perhaps the US will clap its hands because it
will have started a very major flare-up.”
Six coincidences? Six times that the US has disclosed that Israel is behind an attack? That's not negligence - it's purposeful. Barack Hussein Obama is our ENEMY, and we had better awaken to that reality before letting him or anyone in his administration know about a strike against Iran - before or after it happens.
Embarrassed? Heck no. They're proud of betraying one of their best allies, and they don't think we deserve an answer.
Labels: Barack Hussein Obama, Hezbullah weapons, Latakia, Syria
Turkey's little Nazi: 'We hate Syria but we hate Israel even more'
Turkish foreign minister Ahmet Davutoğlu has
denied allegations that Turkey gave Israel intelligence information that was used in an October 31 attack on a Syrian weapons shipment to Hezbullah.
“There is an attempt to give the impression that Turkey has coordinated
with Israel. We have issues with Syria, an issue based on a principle.
But let me say it clearly: The Turkish government has never cooperated
with Israel
against any Muslim country, and it never will,” Davutoğlu told reporters
during a joint press conference in Istanbul Nov. 1 with his visiting
Iranian counterpart Mohammad Javad Zarif.
Several reports said, citing unnamed U.S. officials, that Israel
targeted a missile storage center with Russian-made SA-125 missiles,
likely to be supplied to Hezbollah, the Shiite Lebanese militant group.
Reports
relayed by Israeli media claimed that Turkey was behind the attack in
Latakia by disclosing critical information to Israel.
Davutoğlu
slammed the reports, describing them as “black propaganda.” “Those
[reports] are attempts to cast a shadow on the Syrian people’s rightful
struggle and Turkey’s attitude with principles. It is out of the
question for us to participate in any common operation,” he said.
Davutoğlu
also added that Turkey would stand against such Israeli operation, but
emphasized that the information on the strikes was not confirmed yet.
Of course, none of this would have come to light if Israel's enemies in Washington had kept their mouths shut.
Labels: Ahmet Davutoglu, Barack Hussein Obama, Hezbullah weapons, Syria, Turkish anti-Semitism, Turkish obsession with Israel, weapons acquisition
Israel: US causing us damage
This is Friday's front page of Yedioth Aharonoth, Israel's largest paid daily newspaper:
Translation: "Israel: United States is causing us damage." (Thanks to
Oren Kessler for posting. Saw this in a taxi this morning and have been looking to post it ever since).
Labels: Barack Hussein Obama, Hezbullah, Hezbullah weapons, IAF, strategic weapons, surface-to-air missiles, Syria, weapons acquisition
Video: Israel Radio anchor slams US for disclosing Israeli strike on Syria
There's a lot of anger at the United States in Israel this morning, because the Obama administration has once again
told the world that Israel is responsible for a strike on Syrian weapons being transferred to Hezbullah. This is Israel Radio's Aryeh Golan, the anchor of the drive time news hour. The tape is in Hebrew but there's an English translation.
Let's go to the videotape.
Barack Hussein Obama is Israel's enemy. There is no more pretense. That's the explanation for why his administration is doing this. If only the Israeli government (which pays Golan's salary) would admit it....
Labels: Barack Hussein Obama, Hezbullah, Hezbullah weapons, IAF, Israel Radio, strategic weapons, surface-to-air missiles, Syria, weapons acquisition
And again: Obama administration confirms Israeli attack on Syrian arms supply
This
isn't the first time that American officials have confirmed an Israeli strike on Syrian arms supplies to Hezbullah
in the face of Israeli silence, and if the previous time is any indication, Israeli officials are going to be
awfully ticked off about it.
This is from the second link.
Israel conducted air raids against a Syrian missile base near the port
city of Latakia on Thursday night according to a leak by an anonymous US
administration official, speaking to CNN.
The US official said
that Israel targeted missiles and related equipment out of fear that
they would be transferred to Hezbollah.
It is unclear why the US would leak such information as it could put more pressure on Syria to retaliate against Israel.
It's unclear? It's awfully clear to me: Obama is our enemy!
Meanwhile,
al-Arabiya is reporting
details of the attack.
The bombing targeted a shipment of surface-to-air missiles (SAM) that was headed for Hezbollah in Lebanon, the sources said.
The
Associated Press quoted U.S. officials confirming that Israel was
behind the attacks, which they said targeted Russian missiles, without
giving further details.
And you think Israel is going to give Obama
advance notice before attacking Iran's nuclear weapons? Have you gone mad?
Labels: Barack Hussein Obama, Hezbullah, Hezbullah weapons, IAF, strategic weapons, surface-to-air missiles, Syria, weapons acquisition
Hezbullah's American arms
Hezbullah in Lebanon has American weapons. Where did they come from? They surely didn't come from Fast and Furious in Mexico. And since the US has not yet given arms (or did they?) to the Syrian rebels, they didn't come from there either. So what's the source?
Here's Soccer Dad's Middle East Media Sampler for Thursday, July 11.
1) Where did Hezbollah get American arms
Last month Lee Smith attempted to clarify if the administration had sent
army to the Syrian rebels as it said it would, or not. All he (or
anyone) got
was studied ambiguity:
In fact, it’s still not clear what the White House is doing.
In a June 13 conference call with reporters ostensibly rolling out the
new policy, deputy national security adviser for strategic
communications Ben Rhodes failed to provide any details. Reporters asked
several times what kind of aid the administration had in mind, and
whether Obama was actually going to arm the rebels. “We’re just not
going to be able to lay out an inventory of what exactly falls under the
scope of that assistance,” said Rhodes.
Last week, Obama himself addressed the Syria issue, without providing
any more clarity than his point man for strategic communications. In an
appearance on the Charlie Rose show, the commander in chief told his
host, “I’ve said I’m ramping up support for both the political and
military opposition. I’ve not specified exactly what we’re doing, and I
won’t do so on this show.”
Maybe someone in the White House is advising Obama that obfuscation and
ambiguity make a president look presidential. His administration is
stealthy and indirect—instead of communicating with the public through
press conferences, it prefers leaking to the media via unnamed
officials. Accordingly, it was through several press reports that the
“inventory,” as Rhodes repeatedly called it, was laid out. The White
House will send the rebels small arms and ammunition—lethal aid, to be
sure, but hardly game-changing, or even likely to tilt the balance of
power on the ground in Syria.
Citing expert, Phillip Smyth,
USA Today reported, though, that Hezbollah has been boasting of somehow acquiring American arms:
U.S. and Western weapons have been reaching Iranian-backed
Shiite militias fighting to keep Bashar Assad's forces in power in
Syria.
Analysts say it's unclear if the weapons were captured, stolen or bought
on the black market in Syria, Turkey, Iraq or Libya. Propaganda
photographs from Shiite militias posted on dozens of websites and
Facebook pages show the weapons were acquired in new condition, said
Phillip Smyth, an analyst for Jihadology.net, a site affiliated with the
Washington Institute for Near East Policy.
Many of the weapons are things the militias "shouldn't really have their
hands on," Smyth said. Iranians love to show "they have weapons and
systems that are very close to the Americans."
The article cites Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, who fears that in the future
similar weapons were captured from rebels.
Does that mean that United States has been arming the Syrian rebels? Not
necessarily. Another expert, Nic Jenzen-Jones, says that a likely
source of these American weapons is
Lebanon.
Given the degree to which
Hezbollah has co-opted the Lebanese army this would not be a surprising result.
2) Who's isolated now?
A few years ago a mantra among Israel's critics was that Israeli by
fighting terrorists on the Mavi Marmara and building apartments in
Jerusalem had isolated itself internationally. Israel had needlessly
alienated moderate Islamist Erdogan in Turkey and moderate autocrat
Abbas in Ramallah. Worse Netanyahu had alienated Israel's best friend,
President Obama in Washington.
It's useful to remember this background when reading Thomas Friedman's
Morsi's Moment from last November.
It is impossible not to be tantalized by how much leverage
Morsi could wield in the peace process, if he ever chose to engage
Israel. Precisely because he represents the Muslim Brotherhood, the
vanguard of Arab Islam, and precisely because he was democratically
elected, if Morsi threw his weight behind an Israeli-Palestinian peace
deal, it would be so much more valuable to Israel than the cold peace
that Sadat delivered and Hosni Mubarak maintained. Sadat offered
Israelis peace with the Egyptian state. Morsi could offer Israel peace
with the Egyptian people and, through them, with the Muslim world
beyond.
Ironically, though, all of this would depend on Morsi not becoming a
dictator like Mubarak, but on him remaining a legitimately elected
president, truly representing the Egyptian people. That is now in doubt
given Morsi’s very troubling power grab last week and the violent
response from the Egyptian street. President Obama has to be careful not
to sell out Egyptian democracy for quiet between Israel and Egypt and
Hamas. We tried that under Mubarak. It didn’t end well. ...
So, as you can see, the unresolved Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the
future of Egyptian democracy and the U.S.-Israel-Arab struggle with Iran
and Syria are now all intertwined. Smart, courageous leadership today
could defuse the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, advance Egyptian
democracy and isolate the Iranian, Syrian and Hamas regimes. Weak or
reckless leadership will empower all three. This is a big moment.
Friedman makes some assumptions here. He presumed that Morsi could be
swayed to democracy and ignored the authoritarian nature of the Muslim
Brotherhood. He presumed that the Palestinians want an agreement with
Israel, which they don't. And most of all he presumed that Israeli
leader would act as he wanted them to act ("smart, courageous").
In subsequent months, Iran and its proxies have continued to alienate
themselves from the Sunni world. The Muslim Brotherhood, at least in
Egypt, managed to do the same.
Erdogan after briefly flirting politically with Assad, then turned
against him. And his much vaunted moderation was shown to be a sham once
he turned his troops violently against protesters. Abbas can't keep a
functioning government together.
Smart Israeli leadership waited this events out and didn't proceed
recklessly as Friedman advised.
Barry Rubin provides an overview of recent events in the Middle East and
how they enhanced Israel's posture.
A couple of them are:
Hamas: With Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood thrown out of office,
Hamas poses much less of a threat. Instead of having Egypt as a patron,
Egypt is now a greater enemy than it was under Mubarak. That then
breaks up the issue of a Brotherhood Egypt, Hamas, and Syria.
Egypt: And speaking of Egypt, the transformation for Israel’s strategy
almost approaches the victory of the 1967 war except this is not a
victory over Egypt but a tremendous enhancement of cooperation. The
threat of the dissolution of the peace treaty and a potential new war
has been replaced by a prospect of deeper peace and more strategic help.
The draining of terrorist resources and energies. Syria is now a target,
as well as Iraq, for Sunni terrorists; and now Egypt is, too.
Would Israel have been better off it had made deal that would have
passed muster with the now deposed Morsi? (Assuming that one was
possible.) Should Israel have given in to the
extremist, Erdogan's demands? Once again Israel is considering making a
confidence building gesture
to bring Mahmoud Abbas back to negotiations. Given Abbas's record and
rhetoric, it's hard to believe that he will respond positively.
Friedman's reading of the Middle East is seen solely through his rose
colored glasses of Arab moderation. Events of the past months have
proven him wrong.
3) Ozymandias in the Gulf?
Martin Kramer comments on Qatar's latest grandiose plans:
Well, Deloitte reports that Qatar is spending $200bn—yes,
that’s billion—for infrastructure to host the FIFA World Cup in 2022,
including six stadiums (http://usat.ly/1atXzNV). In the distant (or not-so-distant) future, Doha will make a splendid ruin. It will draw tourists for millennia.
Labels: Abu Mazen, Free Syrian Army, gestures, Hezbullah weapons, Lebanese Armed Forces, Mavi Marmara, Middle East Media Sampler, Nusra Front, Qatar, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Soccer Dad, Syrian uprising, World Cup
Huge Hezbullah 'work accident'
Three explosions at a Hezbullah weapons depot in Nabi Sheet, 30 kilometers south of Baalbek in Lebanon's Bekaa Valley, have left
nine people dead and at least seven injured. Hezbullah has sealed off access to the town from the media.
AFP sources confirmed that 9 people have
so far been reported dead in Nabi Sheet, Baalbeck after three blasts were heard in a
mountainous area between "Nabi Sheet" and "El-Khraybeh" villages in the
eastern mountain series in Bekaa. This as
Hezbollah announced that 3 died and several
were injured in the weapons cache explosion in Baalbeck.
According to sources the explosions occurred inside weapons caches
resulting in several injuries. Initially the cause of the explosions
near the city of Baalbek was not immediately
clear, but an official who spoke on condition of anonymity said the
nature of the blasts suggests there
were explosives or weapons stored inside the building.
Security members cordoned off the area and prohibited people from coming
close to it,blocking access to journalists, the report mentioned.
It was later reported that the home of
Mohammad Ali Reda Moussawi was completely destroyed as a result of the
explosion, with several surrounding buildings also sustaining damage. This as
ambulances transferred the wounded (nearly 7) to nearby hospitals
Baalbek is located in the Bekaa Valley in eastern Lebanon.
If you're dumb enough to let someone store weapons in your home, sometimes your home is going to get destroyed. And I doubt there's any insurance coverage....
A JPost report, apparently based on earlier sources, is
here.
Labels: Bekaa Valley, explosions, Hezbullah, Hezbullah weapons, Lebanon, work accident
Israel behind arms explosions in Lebanon?
YNet's Ronen Bergman, one of the country's top columnists dealing with security issues, only hints at it, but it sure sounds like he's trying to tell us that
Israel has something to do with all the arms explosions in southern Lebanon.
One of Hezbollah’s main lessons following its success in the 2006 war was the establishment of as many arms depots as possible in urban areas and in non-residential regions. As result of this combat doctrine, Hezbollah is attempting to rebuild its weapons depots, under the noses of UNIFIL and with the quiet backing of the Lebanese army. This is being done as part of the preparations for the Third Lebanon War.
Israel, which invests great intelligence resources in Lebanon, is seeing this and is becoming infuriated. The Israeli aircraft that hover across Lebanon record, day after day, Hezbollah’s military buildup; however, as they adhere to the ceasefire, these aircraft cannot target the arms deliveries, which mostly arrive from Syria.
Meanwhile, UNIFIL forces are failing to detect these shipments and cannot, or do not want to, operate against them in a strict fashion.
Israel, which wishes to prove its claims, published about a year ago the intelligence files of some Lebanese villages; the photos prove the scope of the weapons being stored there.
Simultaneously, in the past two years, some of these arms depots started to explode under mysterious circumstances, like a knife in Hezbollah’s heart.
Bergman is very much in the know (he broke the story that Goldwasser and Regev were dead nearly a year before the IDF was 'shocked' to get their bodies back in black boxes). Does anyone think he's
not hinting that Israel is behind those explosions?
Read the whole thing.
Labels: Hezbullah, Hezbullah weapons, Southern Lebanon
Who dun' it?
Well, isn't this interesting.
You will recall that earlier today I reported on a
massive explosion in Siddiqin in southern Lebanon.
Israel Radio reported at Midnight that the Lebanese Armed Forces - who like UNIFIL are being denied access to the site of the explosion by Hezbullah - have confirmed to Lebanon's MTV television that the explosion was caused by a Hezbullah ammunition storage area.
But Naharnet - an online portal from Lebanon is telling a completely different story and
blaming... guess whom....
The army command announced on Wednesday that the Siddiqin explosion that took place overnight may have been caused by a mine or cluster bomb left over from Israeli attacks on Lebanon.
It said in a statement that army units headed to the scene of the blast and conducted a wide search throughout the night and during the day on Wednesday without finding anything.
“Given these findings, the explosion was most likely caused by a mine or a cluster bomb,” it concluded.
Hizbullah meanwhile issued a statement condemning media reports that claimed that the blast took place at a party headquarter or arms depot, deeming them as “completely baseless.”
Some people will believe anything, won't they? There is no way an explosion that large is caused by 'a mine or cluster bomb left over from Israeli attacks on Lebanon.'
Labels: Hezbullah weapons, Lebanese Armed Forces, Southern Lebanon, UNIFIL
Huge explosion in Hezbullahland
Lebanon's Daily Star is reporting on a massive explosion in Siddiqin, which is part of Hezbullah's southern Lebanon stronghold. If you look at the map above, find Kiryat Shmona on the right (the Israeli side has highway numbers which make it more legible) and then go directly left to the center, you will find Siddiqin. The Daily Star reports that - surprise -
the explosion was probably caused by a Hezbullah ammunition cache.
A huge explosion shook the Hezbollah stronghold of Siddiqin in south Lebanon overnight, a security source told The Daily Star Wednesday.
The source said the cause of the blast, which was heard shortly before midnight, could not be determined due to the heavy security blanket that was thrown by Hezbollah.
Attempts by Lebanese security forces to reach the scene so far failed as Hezbollah members created a one-kilometer radius security zone around the explosion site between Siddiqin and Deir Ames, the source added.
Local media said the explosion likely took place at a Hezbollah arms cache.
In the past, the IDF has posted video of explosions like this from its UAV's. As of now, no such video has been posted. If they post one, I will add it to this post or put it in a new post.
Labels: explosions, Hezbullah weapons, Lebanon
Hezbullah's message to UNIFIL
Sorry for the light posting over the last 18 hours or so. It is likely to continue for another few hours.
In an earlier post, I reported on a roadside bomb directed against UNIFIL's French troops on Tuesday night in which three (it's now been raised to six) troops were wounded. The IDF believes that the bombing was meant to send a
message to UNIFIL.
The bombing of a UNIFIL convoy in southern Lebanon on Tuesday night was likely aimed at sending a message to the peacekeeping force to scale back its operations against Hezbollah, Israeli defense officials said on Wednesday.
UNIFIL’s mandate is up for renewal in mid-August and the attack is understood in Israel as a sign of Hezbollah concern that the force is looking to bolster its rules of engagement.
...
Israel has been lobbying diplomats from countries which contribute to UNIFIL – particularly Spain, Italy and France – to get the UN to issue new rules of engagement for the peacekeeping force that will enable it to search Lebanese villages without prior coordination with the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF).
According to UNIFIL’s current rules of engagement, the force is not allowed to enter southern Lebanese villages to search for Hezbollah arms caches unless it coordinates the operation with the LAF. If approved by the UN, the new rules would still need to be approved by the Lebanese government.
Funny - some of us flagged that as an issue five years ago (no time to go look up the link now). What could go wrong?
Labels: Hezbullah, Hezbullah bunkers, Hezbullah weapons, UNIFIL rules of engagement
Hezbullah's arsenal since 2006
In connection with the 5th anniversary of the Second Lebanon War, the IDF has produced this infographic showing the weapons acquired by Hezbullah since the war in violation of UN Security Council Resolution 1701:
More details
here.
Labels: Hezbullah rockets, Hezbullah weapons, UN Security Council Resolution 1701
