(Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs) Brig.-Gen. (res.) Yossi Kuperwasser - The discovery of Hizbullah's invasion tunnels has removed a critical component of its and Iran's plan for war against Israel. The discovery robbed them of the ability to surprise Israel through an offensive (under)ground assault into Israeli territory, which was to be a central element in challenging the country's security. In addition, it has again embarrassed Iran because it exhibits Israel's superior level of intelligence once more, following the exposure of Iran's nuclear archive, which was brought to Israel. Lebanon and the international arena need to understand that Hizbullah, as an Iranian proxy, is not the "shield of Lebanon," but is a huge danger to that country. Hizbullah is developing strong offensive capabilities against Israel from within Lebanese civilian facilities to serve Iranian interests only. Its actions beyond the international border - inside Israeli territory - justify a sharp Israeli response that will cause harm to Lebanon and its citizens. Any attempt to differentiate between the military wing and the political wing of Hizbullah is ridiculous. Does anyone really believe that a handful of rebellious Hizbullah terrorists decided independently to dig a complex system of tunnels which demanded so many resources? It is amazing to see how the Europeans have confirmed the existence of the tunnels and have expressed their support of Israel's right to destroy them, yet they refuse to blame Hizbullah.UNIFIL has confirmed the existence of a tunnel, but it has refrained from asserting that Hizbullah has thereby significantly violated Israel's sovereignty. The writer, former head of the IDF Military Intelligence Research Division, is Director of the Project on Regional Middle East Developments at the Jerusalem Center.
2018-12-10 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive