Syria and Hizbullah getting ready for War with Israel after 2007
February 24, 2007
http://www.tribulationperiod.com/
There seems to be an effort, by Israeli Cabinet Ministers, to play down the degree of Hizbullah’s power recovery following last year’s conflict, whenever IDF officials give an assessment of a full recovery. The two articles which follow, one from the Jerusalem Post, and the other from Arutz Sheva, also discuss reports differing between different agencies.
The Annual Israel Security Assessment, due to be released Sunday, is expected to predict that a war in 2007 is unlikely, but will indicate that Syria and Hizbullah are getting ready for war with Israel after 2007.
At some point in time between 2008 and 2012, after American troops have left Iraq, my guesstimate is that Iran, Syria, and Hizbullah will believe they have attained sufficient military power to defeat Israel, and will launch an attack against her from the north, supported logistically by seven other Arab nations.
Begin Article from Jerusalem Post
Defense officials: War in 2007 unlikely
JPost.com Staff, THE JERUSALEM POST
February 23, 2007
Defense and security officials were expected to present to the government on Sunday the annual security assessment, according to which a war in 2007 is unlikely.
Despite the general estimate that chances for actual hostilities are slim, the Shin Bet does not anticipate diplomatic progress, and does expect a cessation to the current internecine violence in the Palestinian Authority.
The expected security briefing follows a week of contradictions in the reports of defense and security officials. On Monday, Brig.-Gen. Yossi Baidatz, head of Military Intelligence’s Research Division, told the Knesset’s Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee that Hizbullah has ‘returned to its pre-war capabilities and has even become stronger.’
‘Hizbullah is building up more firepower than it had before the war,’ Baidatz said. ‘Some of this ordnance has arrived, and some is still en route from Syria.’
Baidatz was asked more than once by committee members if he meant that Hizbullah now had more firepower than before the war, and he responded in the affirmative until Defense Minister Amir Peretz interrupted.
Hizbullah has not increased its strength but merely its potential,’ said Peretz.
Baidatz then retracted his previous statement and told MKs that he agreed with Peretz.
Meanwhile, Baidatz told committee members that Syria was preparing its military for a confrontation with Israel.
Sheera Claire Frenkel contributed to this report.
Begin Arutz Sheva, Israel Nation News Article
UNIFIL: Lebanon Okays Hizbullah Patrols
by Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu
February 23, 2007
The Lebanese army has made a deal with Hizbullah terrorist guerillas, dividing up patrols in southern Lebanon, according to an officer of the United Nations Interim Forces (UNIFIL).
Hajj Ali, a Hizbullah terrorist leader who lives in the village of Bint Jbil near the Israeli border, declared, “There will be another war in the summer.
It is the beginning of the end for Israel; we are preparing.”
“Hizbullah still dominates the south, its security men policing the Shi’ite villages and its fighters patrolling the border,” the Guardian reported.
Shi’ite Muslims, aligned with Hizbullah, have re-armed, said the newspaper, which questioned the effectiveness of UNIFIL.
Compounding the international force’s problems in carrying out its mission of keeping Hizbullah out of the area is a growing suspicion among local residents. Analysts have noted that most of southern Lebanon is obligated to Hizbullah, which has provided residents with social and economic support.
UNIFIL soldiers “are not our guests any more,” said Hajj Ali of Bint Jbil, where Hizbullah scored a devastating blow on IDF troops in the village last summer by using advanced anti-tank missiles that Israeli intelligence did not know were in their possession.
“UNIFIL has not lifted a hand against Israel but only intervenes to protect the Israelis, why are they on our land and why have they brought so many tanks?” said a villager in Maroun al-Ras, another town close to the border and site of major clashes with the IDF last summer.
Southern Lebanon residents also have complained that Israel conducts surveillance flights over the area to monitor terrorist activity. UNIFIL has refused to carry out a U.N. Security Council ceasefire resolution clause that it disarm Hizbullah, and Israel has said the flights are meant to fill the vacuum.
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