[Ha'aretz] Amos Harel - If Siniora's government falls in Lebanon, the Sunni leader will be forced to make concessions in favor of Syria, and possibly undermine the sole major achievement of Israel in the second Lebanon war - the arrangements along the border. At war's end, Hizballah was removed from its positions along the border, and an international peacekeeping force was deployed. If Hizballah determines who will form the next government, even if Siniora emerges as a weaker prime minister, the extent of cooperation between Beirut and UNIFIL will be undermined. Nearly four months after the cease-fire went into effect, the two abducted soldiers, for whom Israel went to war, are still not home - and there is not even a sign that they are alive. The smuggling of weapons from Syria to Hizballah, according to IDF Military Intelligence, has resumed and is proceeding at full steam. Southern Lebanon is being rebuilt with Iranian money and Hizballah guerrillas in civilian clothes are moving about uninterrupted. It is hard to imagine the European troops deployed in southern Lebanon staying there if Nasrallah signals that Hizballah intends to target them.
2006-12-04 01:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive