(CNSNews) Julie Stahl - Dr. Eli Karmon of the International Policy Institute on Counter-terrorism said Hizballah has several reasons for stirring up trouble along Israel's northern border. Hizballah wants to be thought of as the only group that can fight against Israel, Karmon said. Hizballah also is making every effort to sabotage negotiations between Israel and the PA. In 2004, Hizballah financed and managed 68 Palestinian terror cells. The last suicide bombing in Israel claimed by Islamic Jihad, in February, was probably commandeered by Hizballah, he said. "It is clear that [Hizballah] wants Israel to leave Gaza but they want Israel to leave under fire, defeated and with nothing in return," Karmon said. "They want the disengagement [to be perceived] not as a withdrawal but as a retreat....They want the Palestinians to present it as a victory and to be part of the victory." That is exactly the way Hizballah portrayed Israel's withdraw from Lebanon in May 2000, he said.
2005-07-01 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive