When Hezbollah needs to hide behind the LAF

...But the fact that Hezbollah is apparently reluctant at this stage to take direct action again Israel underscores how far its room to maneuver has shrunk, and, therefore, how much its value as a deterrent for Iran has dropped. Instead, Tehran now has to rely on the White House reining in Israel, and Hezbollah needs to hide behind the LAF.

Tony Badran..
NOW..
19 December '13..

Lebanon came close to instigating a conflict with Israel on Sunday when a member of the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) shot and killed an Israeli sergeant in his car near the border at Rosh Hanikra. The Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon held the Lebanese government and the LAF responsible, while the LAF command quickly declared that the shooting was an “individual behavior” by the Lebanese soldier.

Despite the LAF’s statement, however, the circumstances behind the shooting remain unclear. As it occurred a few days after the assassination of senior Hezbollah commander Hassan al-Laqis, observers in Beirut, including pro-Hezbollah journalists, suspected the attack was retaliation for the killing of the Hezbollah commander, which the group blamed on Israel. If indeed this was an operation on behalf of Hezbollah, then it was also likely the Party and Iran testing Washington’s ability and willingness, post-Geneva, to restrain Israel.

Using the LAF for that purpose is ideal. For one, Hezbollah understands that US policy in Lebanon, at this point, is essentially narrowed down to supporting the LAF as the representative institution of the state. What’s more, Hezbollah has carefully noted that the US government has implicitly endorsed, and at times explicitly praised, operations conducted by the LAF Directorate of Intelligence – which is closely aligned with Hezbollah – against Sunni areas. And when Hezbollah elements deployed alongside the LAF in the battle against the followers of Ahmad al-Assir in June, some US officials downplayed reports about Hezbollah’s participation in what was, in effect, a joint operation. All in all, what Hezbollah concluded was that the US regarded Sunni extremism as the primary, indeed only, issue, and therefore turned a blind eye to the synergy between the LAF and Hezbollah under the pretext that it preserved Lebanon’s stability.

With all that in mind, if the US was willing to overlook so much with the LAF, then, Hezbollah could well have reasoned, would it really back a forceful Israeli response to an incident such as Sunday’s? And all the more so if it can be said that the soldier went rogue. In addition, Hezbollah knew that a frightened Lebanese acting prime minister and the LAF command would plead desperately with the US to restrain Israel.

And indeed, after the shooting, when the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) mobilized along the border, Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Miqati, as reported in An-Nahar, called the US ambassador to ask that Washington pressure Israel not to launch a retaliatory attack, and to convince it that the Lebanese soldier acted alone. Tellingly, official Lebanese sources who spoke to the newspaper relayed their conviction that “any major Israeli confrontation with Hezbollah would require prior US approval, which is something President Barack Obama will not allow.” In other words, the prevalent thinking among Hezbollah and its allies in the acting government is that the US détente with Iran can be used as leverage against Israel.

Bryen - Lebanon: Hezbollah Digs In

Shoshana Bryen
Hudson New York
01 December '11

http://www.hudson-ny.org/2629/lebanon-hezbollah-digs-in

Hezbollah is the Shiite outpost of Iran on the Mediterranean, largely supplied through Syria, Iran's ally, while training and on-the-ground-assistance is supplied by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps [IRGC]. While parts of Lebanon –- a "semi-sovereign" country -- are occupied by Palestinian refugee camps that are "no go zones" for the government, the south is occupied by Hezbollah, as is the Lebanese government since Hezbollah shot its way into the Cabinet after the last election.

Even as the Obama administration has been acknowledging the steady growth of Hezbollah's arsenal in both size and sophistication, it has been aiding in the growth and sophistication of the Lebanese Armed Forces [LAF], the Army of the (now Hezbollah-dominated) Beirut government, which is supplied in no small measure by the United States and France. The administration has provided the LAF equipment – including night vision equipment and mini-UAVs – previously reserved for NATO countries and close allies. This gives Hezbollah at least partial control of two armies – one above ground, one largely under.

In May 2010, The United States Central Command (CENTCOM) announced the delivery of an arms shipment to the LAF that included, "1,000 M16A4 rifles, 10 missile launchers, 1,583 grenade launchers, and 538 sets of day/night binoculars and night-vision devices. This equipment will be supported with training provided by the United States government. The United States is committed to providing assistance to the LAF to help them increase their capacity." Defense Industry Daily reported shortly thereafter that the US had supplied mini-Unmanned Arial Vehicles, helicopters and surplus M-60A3 main battle tanks.[1]

Three months later, LAF soldiers fired across the border into Israel, killing one IDF officer and wounding another. Congress temporarily withheld support from the LAF.

The Failure Of The U.N. In Lebanon

Jonathon Narvey
The Propagandist
31 March '11



The United Nations Interim Force In Lebanon (UNIFIL) has failed spectactularly in its mandate, namely:

Assist the LAF in taking steps towards the establishment between the Blue Line and the Litani river of an free of any armed personnel, assets and weapons other than those of the Government of Lebanon and of UNIFIL deployed in this area.

Without actually naming the predicted troublemaker, the United Nations had committed to preventing a buildup of Hezbollah bunkers and munitions dumps throughout civilian areas of southern Lebanon.

(Read full "The Failure Of The U.N. In Lebanon")

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France Gives Lebanon Anti-Tank Missiles That Would Only Be Used Against, Guess Who?

Barry Rubin
The Rubin Report
19 December '10

The French news agency AFP is reporting that France is giving the Lebanese army 100 anti-tank HOT missiles in February to be used by the military’s Gazelle helicopters. There are no conditions attached to their use.

Israel is concerned about the deal. In November, the U.S. government lifted a freeze on $100 million in aid to Lebanon when that government—which is basically though not completely controlled by Iran, Syria, and Hizballah—promised that it would not give arms to Hizballah and would try to keep that group from controlling the border and attacking Israel.

Of course, the Lebanese government and army will do nothing of the kind, both because much of it sides with Hizballah and the rest is afraid of Hizballah. Hizballah has accumulated an arsenal estimated at about 40,000 rockets with no interference at all by the Lebanese government, Western countries, or the UNIFIL force that was set up in 2006 to…stop the import of such weapons.

Now let’s see, what country has tanks and might use them against somebody in Lebanon during a future war? Turkey? No. Iran? No. Syria? No. Jordan? No. Al-Qaida? No. See if you can guess.

(Read full "France Gives Lebanon Anti-Tank Missiles That Would Only Be Used Against, Guess Who?")

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Hezbollah Engineering New Media Stunt

Honest Reporting/Backspin
03 October '10

During his upcoming visit to Lebanon, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad wants to throw a symbolic stone at Israel.

Be prepared for some kind of Lebanese stunt designed to draw Israel into another media skewering.

Earlier this year, the Lebanese army and Hezbollah engineered a border flare up over what was supposed to be routine Israeli border maintenance. We raised questions of media collusion by the unexplained presence of so many international photographers.

(Read full post)

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Caving to Iranian Threats

JINSA
Report #: 1,017
30 August '10

When Congress withheld U.S. military assistance to the Beirut government after Lebanese Army Forces (LAF) fired into Israel, Iran announced that it would pick up the slack. Tehran already supplies Hezbollah through Syria - a process improved, according to European sources, by a new Iranian agreement with Turkey not to block Hezbollah-bound shipments through its territory. Iran would thus become a supplier to both the Lebanese government and the Lebanese government-approved Hezbollah militia. One of those is considered by the U.S. government to be a terrorist organization.

But such is the fear of Iran in the Obama Administration that State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley told reporters never mind what Congress says. "I think that the statements by Iran are expressly the reason why we believe that continuing support to the Lebanese government and the Lebanese military is in our interest...Hezbollah is a fact within Lebanese society and much of our effort in supporting the Lebanese military is in fact the very professionalization that we think helps mitigate that risk."

Crowley appears to be saying U.S. aid to the LAF will enable Lebanon to work against Hezbollah and Iran, and withholding aid would "force" Lebanon to turn to its "enemy" Iran. Evidence, please, because we find Lebanon to be acting out of weakness or affinity as an ally of Iran right now - in spite of our aid or because of it. There is no Lebanese effort to close the Syria-Lebanon border by which Iran provides increasingly sophisticated weapons to Hezbollah. There is increasing evidence that the LAF warns Hezbollah of UNIFIL activity and shares intelligence and weapons. There was even a report by a generally reliable source that Iranian intelligence and commando operatives visited southern Lebanon in August in the company of the LAF.

(Read full report)

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Military Implications of the Israel-Lebanon Border Incident

Jeffrey White
Washington Institute
Policy Watch #1686
09 August '10

(Well presented, minus speculation. Y.)

The August 3 border clash between the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) and the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has important military implications, demonstrating the readiness of the IDF to respond to any border incident and revealing the potential for the LAF and the Lebanese state to become directly and substantially involved in a future conflict between Israel and Hizballah. Moreover, the incident has occurred in the context of serious preparations by Hizballah and Israel for war. While it has become conventional wisdom that none of the players wants war, the relative quiet of the past four years seems increasingly fragile.

The Players

The military picture in southern Lebanon is complicated and becoming increasingly so. Four major players have a role in the border situation: Iranian-supported Hizballah, Israel, the LAF, and the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL). The result is a scene of complex dynamics both within southern Lebanon itself and between Israel and the players in Lebanon.

Hizballah, without question, is the dominant military power in southern Lebanon. Its robust force structure there, including units and significant numbers of fighters and weapons, dwarfs the capabilities of the LAF and UNIFIL. For internal Lebanese political reasons and in response to concerns about potential Israeli military action, Hizballah normally chooses not to exert or display its capabilities. Hizballah forces occupy positions in villages and in what the IDF calls "nature reserves" (areas of rugged and fortified terrain). Some of these positions are located very close to the Israeli border.

(Read full report)

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Lebanon's Hezbollah Dilemma

Mark Silverberg
Hudson New York
13 August '10
Posted before Shabbat

With each passing day, it is becoming increasing difficult to determine where Hezbollah's control of Lebanon ends and where the Lebanese government's control begins. The terrorist organization now dictates Iranian decrees to Lebanese officials and institutions; manipulates their activities; and greatly influences the country's decision-making processes through infiltration, intimidation, and terrorism. No decision can be made by the Lebanese government or any of its institutions including its military forces without Hezbollah's approval.

The deadly clash in early August along the Lebanon-Israel border that left a senior IDF officer dead and another seriously wounded highlighted the problem, and has raised questions about future U.S. government funding of advanced weaponry and equipment for the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) -- a policy which, until now, has represented the cornerstone of U.S. efforts to stabilize Lebanon. Evidence indicates that the LAF sniper (a Shiite) was closely associated with Hezbollah (a Shiite terrorist organization); and many in Congress fear that such associations between the LAF and Hezbollah go far deeper than meets the eye.

Hezbollah's influence has gradually seeped into state institutions, especially the Lebanese army. The LAF's profound weaknesses, and the level of penetration by Hezbollah, is one of the main reasons why the LAF seeks to avoid a confrontation. There is a very real danger that, in such an eventuality, the LAF's Shiite contingent (numbering approximately a third of the Lebanese army) would desert and join the terrorist group, leading to another Lebanese civil war.

Of concern to members of Congress is the knowledge that the LAF not only provides Hezbollah with intelligence information gathered through the use of U.S. and French high-tech signals equipment (as noted below), but that it has high-ranking LAF officers closely associated with Hezbollah.

(Read full article)

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Border Clash: A Case Study in Reuters Photography

A closer look at Reuters' photos of last week's Lebanese border skirmish raises some troubling questions.


Honest Reporting
Media Critique
11 August '10

Last week's shoot out along the Israeli-Lebanese border during routine IDF maintenance was remarkably well-covered by many news services.

Reuters' own photo work stood out, both for the sheer number of images produced, and for the quality of the pictures -- access to the front lines that that would impress and envy most combat reporters.

HonestReporting reviewed Reuters' photographs of the incident as a case study. The results raise some troubling questions.

The Issues

1. Five photographers, (in addition to an unknown number of stringers) from one news service covering what was supposed to be routine IDF border maintenance work is astounding.

The Reuters photographers identified with photo credits are Ali Hashisho, Hamad Almakt, Kamel Jaber, Baz Ratner, and Karamallah Daher (not to be confused with AP photographer Ronith Daher who also covered the border skirmish). Ratner and Almakt worked on the Israeli side of the border. The rest of the images are from the Lebanese side.

One photographer deserving closer scrutiny is Ali Hashisho. Judging from his especially close access and captions, it's worth asking if Hashisho also serves in the Lebanese Army, UNIFIL, or some other position that might be a conflict of interest with his work for Reuters.

(Read full critique)

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Hizballah, a threat to the USA

Fresnozionism.org
10 August '10

Hizballah, second only to al-Qaeda in the number of American citizens murdered, is the most powerful terrorist group in the world today. Hizballah effectively controls Lebanon — thus finally putting an end to the idea of a state in which Muslims and Christians could share power — and will soon doubtless fight yet another war with Israel.

Hizballah has tentacles in numerous countries, and is especially powerful in Latin America. Originally financed from Iran, Hizballah now is also funded by drug operations in both hemispheres. It also receives contributions from Islamic charities around the world.

The degree of autonomy exercised by Hizballah is unclear, but its connection to Iran is close enough that it’s been called “the Foreign Legion of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards.” It’s fair to say that one of the major factors that deters the US and Israel from military action against the Iranian nuclear program is the threat that Hizballah would both strike Israel with tens of thousands of rockets as well as unleash a wave of terror against American interests at home and abroad.

Hizballah is a tremendous threat to the US — probably more so than al-Qaeda — especially since it could easily infiltrate terrorists through our porous Mexican border.

So you would think that our foreign policy would be aimed at weakening it. You would think we would be doing our best to help keep weapons out of its hands.

You would think that if we knew that major parts of the Lebanese Armed Forces were controlled by Hizballah, we wouldn’t train them and give them advanced weapons.

(Read full post)

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What the World Isn’t Being Told about the Israeli-Lebanese Border Incident

Don't look to the MSM to give you the truth about this week's ambush of IDF reservists.


Richard Landes
pajamasmedia.com
06 August '10

Despite the careful “he said … she said” approach of the mainstream news media about the clash along the Lebanese-Israeli border this week, events are quite clear: Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) were deliberately ambushed by Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF).

In an outdoor press conference held at a lookout point above the Lebanese border where the incident occurred, Ilan Diksteyn, the deputy commander of the Israeli brigade, explained what happened. The IDF had notified the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) of its intentions and complied with multiple requests to delay a routine job that should have started early in the morning and didn’t get going till midday.

According to Diksteyn, he had personally walked the border with the UNIFIL commander and identified all the trees and shrubs they intended to cut down, all approved of as being located on the Israeli side of the border by the UNIFIL commander. The key tree was some 200 meters from the Blue Line, so there was not the most remote possibility that Israel trespassed on Lebanese territory. The IDF even set out the crane without a man in it, just to demonstrate their intentions beforehand.

But no sooner did they put a man in the unit and lift him over the fence than a sniper shot and killed the commanding officer of the unit who was away from the border and observing from a distance. Despite claiming they fired first in the air, and that Israel initiated the hostilities, an LAF spokesman eventually asserted their right “to defend Lebanon’s sovereignty.”

The Israelis claim this was an ambush by units of the Lebanese Armed Forces. And as such, this was an unprecedented new level of aggression. Even the normally cautious UNIFIL, which the previous day had restricted itself to calling for calm and announcing its intention to investigate, eventually — and exceptionally — sided with Israel’s claim that the tree was on their side of the border. Even the Lebanese admit they carried out an ambush.

(Read full article)

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Asymmetry in Lebanon

J. E. Dyer
Contentions/Commentary
06 August '10

Reports have been emerging that the August 2 attack by Lebanese forces on Israeli soldiers in Israel was ordered in advance by the Lebanese army chain of command. An article in today’s Sydney Morning Herald describes the admission from a Lebanese official, who met with the IDF after the incident, that the attack was planned by Lebanon’s military. The Herald’s information is sourced to the Lebanese newspaper As Safir; meanwhile, the NOW Lebanon news website cites al-Manar TV in its report, according to which “the order to open fire in Tuesday’s border skirmish [came] ‘directly from the [army] command.’” And Israeli Ambassador Michael Oren, in a Washington Post editorial today, mentions that Hezbollah’s Hassan Nasrallah “sent a television crew to film the ambush” — a preparation picked up on earlier by Italian media, Ronen Bergman at the Wall Street Journal, and several bloggers, who noted that the Lebanese reporter killed in the exchange worked for Hezbollah outlet Al Akhbar. (H/t: Israel Matzav, Emet m’Tsiyon, Pajamas)

Among the obvious points to make about this incident, there’s one that may not be quite so obvious. Monday’s dangerous and irresponsible action involved a national army attacking the territory of another nation. It could be considered an act of war. And if it was indeed planned by elements of the Lebanese army acting as agents for Hezbollah, then it appears as though the Lebanese were counting on Israeli restraint and professionalism to keep the event a photo-op and not let it spiral out of control. They counted on Israel, in other words, to treat the attack as it does Hezbollah’s terror attacks.

(Read full post)

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Israel’s American-made foes

Caroline Glick
Column One/JPost
06 August '10

It wasn’t a US Army sniper who killed IDF Lt.- Col. Dov Harari and seriously wounded Capt. Ezra Lakia on Tuesday. But the Lebanese Armed Forces sniper who shot them owes a great deal to the generous support the LAF has received from America.

For the past five years, the LAF has been the second largest recipient of US military assistance per capita after Israel. A State Department press release from late 2008 noted that between 2006 and 2008, the LAF received 10 million rounds of ammunition, Humvees, spare parts for attack helicopters, vehicles for its Internal Security Forces “and the same frontline weapons that US military troops are currently using, including assault rifles, automatic grenade launchers, advanced sniper systems, anti-tank weapons and the most modern urban warfare bunker weapons.”

Since 2006, the US has provided Lebanon some $500 million in military assistance. And there is no end in sight. After President Barack Obama’s meeting with Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri in June, the White House proclaimed Obama’s “determination to continue US efforts to support and strengthen Lebanese institutions such as the Lebanese Armed Forces and the Internal Security Forces.”

And indeed, in late June, US Defense Secretary Robert Gates informed Congress that the Pentagon intends to provide the LAF with 24 120mm mortars, 24 M2 .50 caliber machine guns, 1 million rounds of ammunition, and 24 humvees and trailers. The latest orders should be delivered by the end of 2011.

According to the Los Angeles Times, the administration has already allocated $100m. in military assistance to Lebanon for 2011.

(Read full article)

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Israel, Lebanon And Deterrence

Eamonn McDonagh
Z-Word Blog
04 August '10
Posted before Shabbat

Now that UNIFIL has substantially endorsed Israel’s account of yesterday’s fatal shooting on its border, a couple of thoughts…

1.

The fact that the slaying of Dov Harari was not accompanied by salvos of Hezbollah rockets landing in Israel nor quickly followed by F16s bombing Lebanon in response may be attributable, among other things, to the Dahiya doctrine; Israel’s stated intention to use disproportionate force (perhaps I should say “really very disproportionate force indeed”, as many commentators regard any level of force used by Israel to be disproportionate) against civilian infrastructure being used to attack it should Hezbollah decide to go to war against Israel again. The next time around there’ll be no half-cocked escalation with ill-prepared infantry blundering around in the villages of south Lebanon like there was in 2006 and this knowledge appears to have had a certain sobering effecting on Nasrallah.

(Read full post)

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The truth about Lebanon

Op-ed: Israel must warn that Lebanon provocations would lead to different kind of war


Giora Eiland
Israel Opinion/Ynet
05 August '10

Posted before Shabbat

The grave incident on the northern border Tuesday reflects Lebanon’s reality – a reality that many observers in Washington and Paris preferred not to see. It’s important that we know what Lebanon’s global image is, compared to this reality.

The global image is as follows: There are two camps in Lebanon. The “good guys” camp includes the Christians, Sunnis, and Druze. This camp espouses peace, wants to boost Lebanese democracy, and wishes to move closer to the West. On the other end there’s the “bad guys” camp, which is based on Hezbollah and is supported by the “axis of evil” – Syria and Iran. These two camps are seemingly engaged in a struggle for hegemony in Lebanon.

Had the above description portrayed reality accurately, America’s and France’s conclusion would have been correct – the Lebanese state must be assisted politically, economically, and militarily in order to boost the “good guys” camp.

Regrettably, the reality in Lebanon is very different. The actual circumstances are as follows: There are indeed two camps in the country, yet they maintain an unwritten agreement that allows each party to utilize its relative advantage for a common goal.

And so, the “good guys” camp presents Lebanon’s beautiful face: It highlights the existence of democratic institutions, Francophone culture, tourism, and so on. At the same time, the other camp (Hezbollah) continues to maintain the (formal) authority to impose a veto on any political decision; this camp also continues to serve as the dominant military power in the country and the only one that determines where peace or war would prevail on the Israeli border.

(Read full Op-Ed)

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Viewpoint: Media responses to Israeli blamelessness

Carmel Gould
Just Journalism
05 August '10

The Lebanon border clashes have provided us with an unusual case study opportunity: how do hostile elements of the media cope when Israel’s version of events is thoroughly vindicated? The answer seems to be: some better than others.

After the heated exchange of fire on Tuesday, four people were left dead: an Israeli colonel, two Lebanese soldiers and a Lebanese journalist. Lebanon claimed Israel had violated its territory and that its army fired warning shots which were answered with direct Israeli fire. Israel claimed that it had been carrying out maintenance on its own territory in co-ordination with UNIFIL and that the LAF opened fire at its soldiers first.

The following day, UNIFIL confirmed that Israel had been operating on its own side of the international border and the Lebanese army admitted opening fire at the Israelis first "to defend Lebanon's sovereignty."

In the straight news reporting, some publications took the bull by the horns. The New York Times’ ‘U.N. Supports Israeli Account of Border Clash’ led:

‘The United Nations peacekeeping force in southern Lebanon, Unifil, said Wednesday that it had concluded that Israeli forces were cutting trees that lay within their own territory before a lethal exchange of fire with Lebanese Army troops, largely vindicating Israel’s account of how the fighting started.’

(Read full report)

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Is war in the offing?

No better way to divert the world attention from the UN report on Hariri murder than to kindle some bloody gunplay.


Michael Freund
Op-Ed/JPost
04 August '10

Two days ago, Lebanon deliberately lit a match that threatens to engulf the entire region.

In a wanton act of murder, Lebanese military snipers pointed and aimed their rifles at IDF soldiers on a routine operation to clear away bushes along the fence on the Israeli side of the border. With their prey in their sights, the gunmen pulled the trigger, killing IDF Lieut. Col. Dov Harari and badly wounding Capt. Ezra Lakia.

Israeli forces quickly returned fire, reportedly killing two Lebanese soldiers and a journalist, in what is perhaps the worst incident between the countries since the 2006 Lebanon war. Make no mistake – this was not one of those periodic incidents which occasionally take place between countries where it is hard to ascertain the who, how or what that occurred.

As OC Northern Command Maj.- Gen. Gadi Eizenkot made clear in remarks to reporters, this was nothing less than a premeditated and belligerent act by our northern neighbors. Employing unusually blunt language to describe the incident, Eizenkot said that, “It was a planned ambush by a sniper unit…this was a provocation by the Lebanese army”.

Indeed it was. And what is particularly worrisome is the peril that it portends for the Middle East as a whole. This sinister and cynical episode may or may not spiral out of control. Either way, it demonstrates that some nefarious forces are at work, and that conflict may very well be in the offing.

(Read full story)

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IDF releases timeline of events. Juan Cole praises Lebanese murderer.

Elder of Ziyon
04 August '10

A senior IDF source provides us (via email) with a background and narrative of the events of Tuesday that was given at a briefing earlier Wednesday.

Hezbollah’s Influence on the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF)

· Since mid-2007, there has been an increased in activity of Global Jihad in the area of Southern Lebanon.

· Recently, we have seen more incidence of violence by Hezbollah directed against UNIFIL’s peacekeeping force.

· LAF brigades in the past were often majority Christian soldiers. ≈ this has changed. The LAF policy now dictates that different brigades will rotate responsibility for the area, and this includes brigades with varying ethno-religious composition.

· There are now a number of brigades of Shiite commanders in charge of forces in the border area. It is likely, given where these soldiers are from – that many of them have relatives who are Hezbollah activists or supporters.

· There has been increasing influence of Hezbollah upon LAF forces, and growth in this has been seen in recent years, as more violations of Res. 1701 have occurred by the Lebanese Armed Forces.

Provocation, Intimidation & Tension in Recent Months:

· Over the past three months, the Central and Eastern Brigades of the LAF have acted with increasing aggression towards Israeli forces stationed along the border. IDF forces have been threatened verbally, as well as with physical gestures by Lebanese troops, aimed at escalating tension in this already sensitive border area. Certain LAF companies have in fact made threats and sought to provoke the IDF through threatening gestures with heavy weaponry, including machine guns and RPGs.

(Read full post)

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UN Acknowledges Lebanon’s Culpability in Border Clash

Max Boot
Contentions/Commentary
04 August '10

Miracles will never cease. The United Nations, of all organizations, is actually backing Israel’s account of the border clash with Lebanese troops:

The United Nations peacekeeping force in South Lebanon, Unifil, said on Wednesday it had concluded that Israeli forces were cutting trees that lay within their own territory before a lethal exchange of fire with Lebanese Army troops on Tuesday, largely vindicating Israel’s account of how the fighting started.

A Lebanese Army spokesman had said on Tuesday that the skirmishes started after Israeli soldiers crossed into Lebanese territory to cut down a tree. Israel said that its forces were clearing brush, as part of routine maintenance work, in a gap between the so-called Blue Line, the internationally recognized border, and its security fence, and that it had coordinated its actions in advance with Unifil.

(Read full post)

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Israel's concerns towards UNIFIL

Elder of Ziyon
03 August '10

I was wondering to which UNIFIL contributing country the blue helmets belong to. I think my question was answered when seeing this picture on which the flag of Indonesia can be seen.

In April this year Israel expressed its concern:

that Indonesia could take up command of UNIFIL’s naval force, making it difficult for the IDF and particularly the Israel Navy to maintain a high level of coordination with the peacekeeping force.

Israel’s concern is that if Indonesia takes command of the force, coordination and ties will deteriorate, since Israel and Indonesia do not have formal diplomatic or military relations. Indonesia already contributes to UNIFIL 1,300 soldiers who are deployed in the eastern sector near the southern Lebanese village of Tayba.

Tayba (or Taibe) is just northwest of Aadaisse and kibbuts Misgav Am, where the incident of today took place.

This could explain a lot.

(Read full post)

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