Hezbollah and Israel - the
situation escalates
As expected, the spectacular raid on Wednesday by the Lebanese
Hezbollah militia in which two Israeli soldiers were abducted and eight
others killed, has led to a rapid escalation of the violence in both
Lebanon and the Gaza Strip. Israel has already bombed the airport of
the Lebanese capital, Beirut, and Israeli army radio reports that the
country intends to impose a total blockade of its northern neighbour,
on land, at sea and in the air.
In addition to Beirut airport, Hezbollah's own television station,
al-Manar, has been the target of an Israeli bombardment, and several
bridges in Lebanon have also been struck. On Thursday morning, the
number of Lebanese nationals killed in various Israeli operations had
already reached 34, with more than 50 other people injured.
Hezbollah, for its part, has been launching more Katyusha missiles into
Northern Israel, killing one woman in Nahariya who had ignored the
warnings to take cover in air raid shelters.
High price
Meanwhile, in the Gaza Strip, Israel's military operations continue
unabated. On Wednesday, at least 24 Palestinians - including nine
members of the same family - lost their lives in the violence. Israel
is resolved to make it clear to both the Palestinians and the Lebanese
that they will pay an extremely high price for the actions of Hamas and
Hezbollah.
As always, Israel's western allies - the United States and Europe -
have begun by defending the country's right to defend itself. But this
is often soon followed by calls for Israel's response not to be
disproportional. Such a call was already heard today - Thursday - from
France, traditionally one of Lebanon's allies.
Restraint
Even the US has called on both sides for restraint. The US
and a number of other European nations are already involved in two
difficult military conflicts in the Arab-Islamic world - in Afghanistan
and Iraq - and really could do without a serious escalation between
Israel and the Palestinians and along the Lebanese border with Israel
which could, in the worst case, end up unleashing a regional war.
But before the international community actually manages to cool the
current conflict somewhat, Israel will have managed to deal a number of
blows which will have considerable impact, particularly in Lebanon,
which is still trying to get back on its feet after many years of civil
war.
The destruction of vital infrastructure and a totally military blockade
of the country will, of course, be a deathblow to trade, industry and
tourism. In this way, Israel hopes to be able to force the Lebanese
government to tackle Hezbollah and disarm the movement. The only
problem is, Hezbollah is part of that government.
Acrobatics
Interestingly, that same government has already distanced
itself from the action taken by Hezbollah - a display of political
acrobatics which clearly indicates that Hezbollah's move is a source of
tension within the government. Naturally enough, the Lebanese
opposition is highly critical, but even allies of Hezbollah have
cautiously indicated that they are not too happy with the action it has
taken. They believe that no single party or group has the right to make
moves which could lead to war, or at least upset the peace. Israel
hopes that its tough reprisals will reinforce these differences inside
Lebanon and push the other parties to turn against Hezbollah.
But as the amount of damage inflicted by Israel grows and the number of
victims rises, the other parties in Lebanon will in fact find
themselves under ever-more pressure to close ranks in resisting the
country's external enemy. Furthermore, Hezbollah is not only a powerful
party in Lebanon and the main representative of the country's largest
community, the Shi'ites, it also has important regional allies: Syria
and Iran.
Limits
For Syria, with part of its territory - the Golan Heights
- still under Israeli occupation, support for Hamas and Hezbollah is
one of the few remaining ways it can exert pressure on Israel. This
also applies in the case of Iran as it finds itself in a serious
confrontation with the US, Israel and Europe over its nuclear plans.
This means that what might at first appear to be a border conflict also
has, in fact, regional and geopolitical dimensions which, in turn, will
soon make it clear that Israel is not at total liberty to decide on the
extent and duration of its military operations. In military terms,
Israel may move rapidly from victory to victory, but each time it soon
finds that there are political limits to its military might.
Bertus Hendriks 13-07-2006
Israel imposes Lebanon
blockade
BBC News 13 July 2006
Israel is imposing an air and sea blockade on Lebanon as part of a
major offensive after two soldiers were seized by the militant group
Hezbollah. Israeli warships have entered Lebanese water to block ports,
and its only international airport was closed after Israeli missiles
blew up its runways. Raids on targets across south Lebanon have killed
at least 35 civilians.
The operation comes as Israel continues a separate offensive in the
Gaza Strip where another soldier was captured. The offensive in Lebanon
follows a day of heavy fighting in which the Israelis suffered their
worst losses on the border for several years. Eight soldiers were
killed and two were injured, in addition to the two captured in a
Hezbollah ambush.
Hezbollah guerrillas also fired volleys of rockets at the northern
Israeli coastal town of Nahariya, killing one Israeli and injuring 14
others. Israeli government spokesman Mark Regev told the BBC that
Israeli was responding to "an unprovoked act of aggression" by Lebanon.
The US urges restraint from all parties, while recognising Israel's
right to defend itself, White House officials said. France and Russia
condemned Israel's "disproportionate use of force".
Blockade
An Israeli military spokesman said Israeli naval ships had entered
Lebanese waters to block the transfer of "terrorists and weapons to the
terror organisations operating in Lebanon". Earlier, three missiles hit
runways at Beirut airport, the country's only international airport,
forcing its closure. Flights have been diverted to Cyprus.
An Israeli army spokesman said the airport was used to supply weapons
to Hezbollah. Israeli leaders have also spoken of extending the
blockade to include travel by land, although the BBC's Jim Muir in
Beirut says this would be much harder to do, given the porous nature of
the borders. The blockade follows wide-ranging Israeli air raids on
southern Lebanon, which left 35 civilians dead, including at least 10
children. The Hezbollah television station al-Manar in southern Beirut
was also hit. The station said three of its employees were hurt.
Responsibility
Israel said its jets hit 40 Hezbollah targets. Israel has said it holds
Lebanon responsible for the soldiers' capture and views it as an "act
of war".
Hezbollah has said the captured soldiers will not be returned without a
release deal for Palestinian, Lebanese and other Arab prisoners held in
Israeli jails. Lebanese Prime Minister Fuad Siniora denied any
knowledge of the Hezbollah operation and refused to take responsibility
for the soldiers' capture. Hezbollah's political wing is a significant
force in Lebanese politics and has one government minister, while its
powerful military wing has controlled the border zone since Israeli
forces pulled out in 2000.
Volatile mix
Israeli Defence Minister Amir Peretz said if Lebanon did not deploy
forces along its southern border, Israel would "not allow Hezbollah
forces to remain on the borders of the state of Israel". Agriculture
Minister Shalom Simchon said the Israeli government wanted to "change
the rules of the game" in Lebanon and make its government "understand
that it is responsible for what happens in Lebanon". In Gaza, Israeli
jets attacked the Palestinian foreign ministry building in Gaza City,
injuring at least 10 people.
The operation follows the capture of Israeli soldier Cpl Gilad Shalit
by Palestinian militants two weeks ago. The BBC's World Affair's
correspondent Nick Childs says the confrontations in Gaza and Lebanon
are ringing alarm bells among world leaders. He says the combination an
untried and apparently uncertain Israeli government, plus tensions that
could easily extend to Syria and Iran is creating a volatile
mixture.One cannot justify the destruction by Israel of the civilian
infrastructure in Lebanon and Palestinian territory. Russian government
statement.
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ISRAEL IN LEBANON
March 1978:
Israel
invades to stop Palestinian attacks
1982: Full-scale
invasion; Israel occupies Beirut; pro-Israel militias massacre
Palestinian refugees
May 1983: Israel
pulls back, but keeps "security zone"
February 1992:
Israeli air strike kills Hezbollah leader
1996: Israel
launches "Grapes of Wrath" raids on Hezbollah; 100 civilians die under
Israeli shelling of UN base at Qana
May 2000: Israel
withdraws troops from Lebanon
January 2004:
Prisoners-bodies swap agreed between Hezbollah and Israel
|
See also
Lebanon timeline
Hezbollah
Hamas
Fatah
Should we be nice to radical
Islam?
Leaderless resistance
Israel
Hamas in power and how to deal with it
Hamas makes strong showing in vote
The Hamas Covenant
Hamas, the PA and money
Israel gambles
Israel loosing support
Israeli army
practices condemned
What about Iran and
Israel?
An amazing or shitty
little country?
The Muslim Brotherhood
Project
The Barrier
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