Important news:
âLebanon army chief asks troops for readiness at Israel border
IDF Spokesman Brig.-Gen. Ronen Manelis warned in a rare op-ed on a Lebanese opposition website that a war with Israel could break out if Iran develops precision missiles in the country.
âLebanon has become – both by its own actions and omissions and by a blind eye from many members of the international community – one large missile factory,â Manelis wrote on the Ahewar website.
“It’s no longer a transfer of arms, funds or consultation. Iran has de-facto opened a new branch, the ‘Lebanon branch.’ Iran is here,” he said.
âIn Lebanon, Hezbollah does not conceal its attempt to take control of the state,â he continued, adding that âin the shadow of Nasrallahâs bullying behaviorâ the terror group has built âterror infrastructure and factories to manufacture weapons under the nose of the Lebanese government.â
Israel and Hezbollah fought a deadly 33-day war in 2006, which came to an end under UN Security Council Resolution 1701 which called for disarmament of Hezbollah, for withdrawal of the Israeli army from Lebanon, for the deployment of the Lebanese army and an enlarged UN force in the south.
âThis past year (2017), like the 11 years that preceded it since the end of the Second Lebanon War, was characterized by relative stability on the Lebanese front. This quiet is for the benefit of residents on both sides,â Manelis wrote. âThe fact that northern Israel and southern Lebanon have children who have not heard an alarm in their lives is a significant achievement of the Second Lebanon War, and the best proof of the stability of Israeli deterrence and the burning memory among the Lebanese about the magnitude of Nasrallah’s previous mistake.â
Nevertheless according to IDF assessments, Hezbollah has since rebuilt its arsenal with at least 100,000 short-range rockets and several thousand more missiles that can reach central Israel. In addition to a massive arsenal of rockets and missiles, Hezbollah is able to mobilize close to 30,000 fighters and has flouted its tunnel system, complete with ventilation, electricity, and rocket launchers.
Hezbollah has also increased its military capabilities due to its fighting in Syria on the side of President Bashar Assad, and has spread its troops across the entire Middle East.
âThe past year has been further proof that Hezbollah serves as an operational arm of Iran. In every place where there was instability, we discovered the fingerprint of Iran and everywhere we discovered Hezbollah’s involvement,â Manelis wrote.
Some 200 villages in south Lebanon have also been turned into âmilitary strongholdsâ from which Hezbollah militants are able to watch Israeli soldiers at any moment.
âThe ordinary citizen will be mistaken to think that this process turns Lebanon into a fortress, it is nothing more than a barrel of gunpowder on which he, his family and his property are sitting,â Manelis said in his op-ed on Sunday.
âOne in every three or four houses in southern Lebanon is a headquarters, a post, a weapons depot or a Hezbollah hideout. We know these assets and know how to attack them accurately if required.â
Israeli officials have repeatedly voiced concerns over the smuggling of sophisticated weaponry to Hezbollah and the growing Iranian presence on its borders, stressing that both are red-lines for the Jewish State.
Senior officials from Israelâs defense establishment have repeatedly stated that while the chance of escalation on the border is low, the smallest incident or a miscalculation by either side has the possibility to lead to conflict.
âThe future of Lebanese citizens is in the hands of a dictator who sits in Tehran,â Manelis wrote, adding that âI think it is right to warn the residents of Lebanon of the Iranian game in their security and in their future.â
In September, Israel carried out its largest military exercise on the northern border in 20 years with tens of thousands of soldiers from all branches of the army simulating a war with Hezbollah.
âThe past year has been used by the IDF to significantly improve preparations for war on the northern front,â Manelis wrote. âIf our enemies understood how much we knew about them, they would be deterred from entering into another conflict for many more years to come.â
Credit to Jpost Inc.for the translation of tge announcement.
This announcement should make anyone knowing and understanding what is going on on our northern border, worry.
We had our UN ambassador Danny Danon just last week, telling the world about what the Iranians are doing and seem to be planning for our region. We had to make that announcement to the world, firstly, to let the world know what is happening on our border and the direct existential threat Iran is posing to us. We also had to expose their evil plans of wiping Israel from the face of the earth, which they keep on promising their country and their followers.
The world had effectively been placed on notice with that announcement.
And now the above message was given out by IDF spokesman, to the residents of southern and central Lebanon, that things are not looking good for them if the situation gets any worse with more factories being built to manufacture more arms and missiles.
Israel has effectively warned them of impending action to take out the Iranian threat from our border.
We also revealed a lot of information that should be a deterrent to any stupid moves or developments on their side, but who knows if anyone is taking any notice.
There are also elections in Lebanon later this year and this could also be an attempt to lower the Iranian influence through Hezbollah, in Lebanon.
Prime Minister Netanyahu is meeting the Russian leader President Putin in Moscow tomorrow. These could also be very significant talks and if we cannot convince the Russians that there is a very dangerous game being played on Syria and Lebanon, we may have to go it alone, to protect ourselves before the situation gets too dangerous and a threat of our survival starts to take shape (chas veshalom).
The situation is not simple in fact very complicated and if things go wrong it could have very serious world wide consequences.
Lets daven that it will not be so.
OH and BTW, the Israel delegation going to Moscow tomorrow is made up of very senior intelligence officials. That speaks loud and clear what the discussions are going to be about.âUpdated Jan 29, 2018, 7:01 AM