Showing posts with label israel hezbolah conflict. Show all posts
Showing posts with label israel hezbolah conflict. Show all posts

Sunday, May 26, 2013

How Iranian Weapons Are Smuggled Through Syria To Hezbollah


In Depth: How Iranian Weapons Go Through Syria To Hezbollah -- Jerusalem Post

For 20 years, Israeli intelligence has been playing a game of cat and mouse against the weapons smuggling axis of Iran, Syria and Hezbollah in a battle in which "every imaginable method is employed."

In the last few months, electricity and telephone services have been occasionally disrupted without warning in various areas of the Bekaa Valley and other regions near Lebanon's border with Syria.

The Lebanese Daily Star recently provided the explanantion for the unclear phenomenon.In a report released some two weeks ago on Israel's efforts to prevent the flow of missiles and advanced weapons from Syria to Lebanon, it was stated that the electricity and telephone service was not being disrupted accidentally, but rather intentionally. Hezbollah is behind the disruptions of service in attempts to make it difficult for Israeli intelligence services to get information on weapons caravans, which begin in Iran, pass through Syria and end in warehouses and underground bunkers in Lebanon.

Read more ....

My Comment: Nothing new in this report .... but the last paragraph provides an interesting analysis on what is the mindset of the m,military-political mindset of Israel's leaders .....

.... but the political and military echelon know well that as long as the war continues, Syria will continue to crumble, thousands of Hezbollah fighters will spill their blood in defense of the Assad regime and Iran will also be bothered by the events; thus, the reality plays into Israel's hands and its starategic situation will continue to improve. However, no senior Israeli offcial would dare say this publicly, because remarks such as this will display a utilitarian and not moral approach. To believe this is allowed, to say so is forbidden.

Thursday, May 9, 2013

Syria’s Conflict Threatens To Spin Out Of Control

Hizballah And Israel Spar As Syria’s Conflict Threatens To Spin Out Of Control -- Nicholas Blanford, Time

A dangerous game of brinkmanship is unfolding in the Middle East pitting Israel against Syria and its militant Shi‘ite ally Hizballah in what threatens to expand the two-year Syrian civil war into a full-blown regional conflict. On three separate occasions since January — two of them within 48 hours of each other last Friday and Sunday — Israeli jets have attacked Syrian military bases, targeting consignments of advanced weaponry supplied allegedly by Iran that were pending transfer to Hizballah across the nearby border with Lebanon. The air raids were unprecedented. Israel has never before risked striking at Hizballah’s Iranian-supplied weapons inside Syria.

For now though, Israel’s gamble seems to have paid off. Other than some initial huffing and puffing from Damascus, no immediate retaliation was forthcoming. But rather than acting as a deterrence, the air strikes appear to have galvanized Syria to promise even greater amounts of sophisticated weaponry to Hizballah and also to announce the launch of a popular resistance campaign to liberate the Golan Heights, the strategic volcanic plateau in the south west corner of the country that has been occupied by Israel since 1967.

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My Comment: Syria and Hezbollah are not in a position to confront Israel .... especially now. But events during war time have a tendency to occur when least suspected .... and in this case .... a Syrian - Hezbollah - Israel conflict cannot be easily discounted.

Friday, August 3, 2012

Experts Predict 200 Israeli Fatalities In War With Hizbullah, Iran

Report: Experts Predict 200 Israeli Fatalities In War With Hizbullah, Iran -- Naharnet

The Israeli Defense Ministry estimated that if the country engaged in a war with Hizbullah and Iran some 200 Israeli civilians would die.

According to Israeli newspaper Haaretz, the number of fatalities could rise to 300 if Syria joins the war as well.

The Defense Ministry experts said that there would be “less than one fatality for every ballistic missile,” warning against Hizbullah’s arsenal that contains short and medium-range Katyusha rockets and hundreds of relatively accurate M-600 rockets.

The experts say that these rockets could strike the center of Israel.

Read more ....

My Comment: Only 200 Israeli fatalities .... 300 if they get involved in a war with Syria !!!!! I do not think so.

A more realistic analysis is this assessment .... where Israeli commanders themselves are admitting that if a war should break out, the goal will be to annihilate Hezbollah .... a military operation that will dwarf the last Israel - Hezbollah war that claimed 1,200 casualties. Throw in Syria and Iran .... hmmmm .... we are talking thousands of casualties.

Sunday, September 6, 2009

Plot To Assassinate The Israeli Chief Of Staff Had To Be Approved From Iran

Photo: Gabi Ashkenazi, chief of staff of the Israeli army. Photo from Times Online

Israeli Accused Of Hezbollah Plot To Assassinate The Israeli Chief of Staff -- BBC

An Arab man, who belonged to the same Tel Aviv health club as the Israeli armed forces chief, has been accused of assisting in a plot to assassinate him.

Prosecutors say Rawi Sultani told Hezbollah about Lt Gen Gabi Ashkenazi, as it sought to avenge the killing of its military commander Imad Mughniyeh.

Mr Sultani admits talking to people who may have been in the Lebanese militant group, but denies any role in a plot.

About one fifth of Israel's population are Arabs of Palestinian descent.

Israeli Arabs frequently claim their community is subject to political persecution, while Israeli Jews often voice suspicion about the loyalty of the Arab minority to the Israeli state.

Read more ....

More News On This Assassination Plot

Plot to kill Israel’s army chief of staff -- Times Online
Analysis: Assassinating Ashkenazi would likely have led to war -- Jerusalem Post
Israeli Arab charged with giving Hezbollah info on IDF chief -- Haaretz
Hezbollah spy / Still seeking to avenge Mughniyeh's murder -- Haaretz
Israeli-Arab charged over plot to kill top general -- ABC News (Australia)
Out of shape: Revelation of ‘gym plot’ against army chief highlights bodyguard problem -- Ynet News opinion

My Comment: I missed this story this week. I only learned about it when I read a news summary from the Small Wars Journal. If this assassination attempt was successful, it would have plunged Israel/Lebanon into another war that would have matched the 1982 conflict.

What is the most troubling aspect of this plot, is that for it to go forward it had to receive support from Iran .... a major escalation in the continuous "underground" war between Israel and Iran.