ISRAELI DEFENCE minister Ehud Barak has warned that if there is renewed conflict on the country’s northern border Israel will feel free to strike at Lebanese infrastructure targets.
Mr Barak told Israel Radio yesterday that during the war between Israel and the Shia Hizbullah in summer 2006 there was a tacit agreement between Jerusalem and Washington that Israeli forces would avoid targeting major roads, air and sea ports, and water and electricity facilities. But he warned that, if another war broke out, the Israeli military would be allowed to use “its full force against the enemy”.
With Hizbullah expected to be part of a new Lebanese national unity government, Israel now considers the organisation an integral part of the Lebanese state.
The Israeli-Lebanese border has been relatively quiet since the 2006 war and UN peacekeepers, with Lebanese army forces, patrol a strip of southern Lebanon previously controlled by Hizbullah.
However, the Shia group is believed to have smuggled tens of thousands of rockets into Lebanon over the past three years. Israeli intelligence officials have reported that Hizbullah has completely rebuilt its network of bunkers and weapons caches inside Shia villages throughout south Lebanon.
Israeli defence forces deputy head of northern command Alon Friedman warned this week that the peace could “explode at any minute”. Hizbullah is closely allied to Iran, and Israel’s determination to prevent Tehran acquiring a nuclear bomb is also raising tension on the northern border.
Israel has warned that it will not tolerate Hizbullah positioning anti-aircraft missiles in south Lebanon.
Last month Hizbullah secretary general Hassan Nasrallah threatened to fire rockets at Tel Aviv if Israel struck Hizbullah positions.
The Ha'aretznewspaper reported yesterday that Washington is pressing Israel for a commitment to freeze construction for a one-year period at West Bank settlements. The US is trying to revive peace negotiations but Palestinian leaders have made clear that talks can only resume after an Israeli settlement freeze in the West Bank and east Jerusalem.
According to Ha’aretz, Israel is only willing to halt building for a six-month period and wants guarantees that such a gesture will be met with moves by Arab states towards normalisation of ties.
Israeli prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu and US Middle East envoy George Mitchell are due to hold discussions in London later this month.