Israel
threatens Lebanon with ‘full strength’ ground invasion in case of
conflict
RT,
2
February, 2018
Tel
Aviv is ready for an all-out ground invasion of Lebanon in the event
of a military conflict with Beirut, Defense Minister Avigdor
Lieberman said. His comments come as relations between the two
neighbors continue to our.
“We
must prepare for maneuvering on the ground too, even if we do not use
it,” the
minister said at a conference of the Institute for National Security
Studies (INSS) held at Tel Aviv University on Wednesday.
Not
mincing his words, Lieberman said that, in a worst-case scenario,
Israel would conduct the operation at “full
strength.” “We must not take one step forward and one step
backward. We will move forward as fast as possible,” Lieberman
added, speaking about the Israeli strategy in a possible conflict
with its northern neighbor.
At
the same time, he said that “maneuvering
is not a goal in itself,”but
is a means of ending the war in what Tel Aviv sees as the most
efficient way.“No
one is looking for adventures, but if we have no choice the goal is
to end [the fighting] as quickly and as unequivocally as
possible,” the
minister told the conference, adding that Israel’s past experience
has shown that “all
the conflicts in the Middle East”do
not “come
to an end” without “soldiers
on the ground.”
Israel
will act tough on Lebanon, the minister warned. He particularly said
that the situation of the Second Lebanon War, “in
which the residents of Beirut were at the beach and in Tel Aviv [they
were] in bomb shelters,” will
not repeat itself if a new conflict breaks out. “If
in Israel they sit in shelters, then in the next fighting all of
Beirut will be in shelters,” Lieberman dded.
The
minister’s comments come amid Israel’s concerns over the Lebanese
Hezbollah armed group, which allegedly plans to arm itself with
locally-produced precision-guided missiles.
“The
Hezbollah terror organization is violating the UN Security Council
resolutions, maintaining a military presence in the region,
possessing weapons systems and increasing its military
capabilities,” Gabi
Eisenkot, the head of the Israeli Defense Forces General Staff, said
on Tuesday, as cited by Haaretz.
Lieberman
also said that he sees no difference between Hezbollah and the rest
of Lebanon, as he believes that the armed group has enough influence
to control both political and military forces of Israel’s northern
neighbor. “They
are part of Hezbollah and they will all pay the full price” for
any large-scale attack on Israel.
The
last major conflict between Israel and Lebanon broke out in 2006. The
military confrontation, known as the Second Lebanon War in Israel and
the July War in Lebanon, lasted 34 days and ended with a UN-brokered
ceasefire.
In
contrast to Lieberman’s words, the war took a much higher toll on
Lebanon than on Israel. The conflict claimed the lives of 1,191
Lebanese people and left more than 4,400 injured, according to the
local officials cited by a UN report.
More than 900,000 Lebanese had to flee their homes because of the
hostilities.
Israel
reportedly lost fewer than 200 people in the conflict, according to
various sources, with most of them being IDF soldiers. Tensions
between the two nations heightened following a brief November
political crisis in Lebanon.
In
late November, the Lebanese Army asked the military to be at “full
readiness” to
face “the
Israeli enemy” on
the southern border. At the same time, Lebanese President Michel Aoun
said that “Israeli
targeting still continues and it is the right of the Lebanese to
resist it and foil its plans by all available means.”
Turkey’s
decision to invade northern Syria has foreign policy implications far
beyond the Middle East. What are Ankara’s objectives in Syria and
the region? Does it facilitate or hinder a final peace settlement to
Syria’s proxy civil war. And what is Turkey’s future in NATO?
CrossTalking with Dan Glazebrook, Sami Ramadani, and Cengiz Tomar.
CrossTalking with Dan Glazebrook, Sami Ramadani, and Cengiz Tomar.
MATTIS
THREATENS SYRIA WTIH MILITARY ACTION IF US FINDS “EVIDENCE” OF
NEW SARIN ATTACK
2
February, 2018
US
Defense Secretary Jim Mattis threatens Syria with a military
action if the US finds hard evidence to back up the claims of
another sarin attack in the country.
On
February 2, Mattis told reporters that chlorine gas was known to
have been weaponized in attacks in Syria. He further added that the
US suspects the government of Syrian President Bashar Assad uses
sarin nerve gas as a weapon on the battlefield.
“We are even more concerned about the possibility of sarin use,” the defense secretary said. “I don’t have the evidence, what I am saying is, that other groups on the ground, NGOs, fighters on the ground, have said that sarin has been used, so we are looking for evidence.”
“They would be ill-advised to go back to violating the chemical convention.”
In
April 2017, the US conducted a cruise missile strike against a
Syrian airfield following reports about the alleged sarin use in the
town of Khan Shaykhun.
“We’re on the record and you all have seen how we reacted to that, so they would be ill-advised to go back to violating the chemical convention,” Mattis said.
The
new series of accusations that the Syrian government uses chlorine or
even sarine against the so-called “rebels” and the “rebel-held”
areas appared amid the rapid advance of the Syrian Arab Army against
Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (formerly Jabhat al-Nusra, the Syrian branch of
al-Qaeda) in the province of Idlib. So, Washington likely rushed to
weaponize the al-Qaeda propaganda to oppose the defeat of the
terrorist group in Syria.
US
Forces Arrive in Israel as Tensions Rise Between Tel Aviv, Beirut
2
February, 2018
US
troops have arrived in Israel to take part in a major joint military
exercise with Israeli forces - as tensions with Hezbollah move from a
simmer to a boil.
US
forces have arrived in Israel to take part in Juniper
Cobra, a biennial major military exercise. In the last Juniper Cobra
in 2016, more than 3,000 US troops took part, according
to a report by Jerusalem Online.
The
exercise will imitate a massive simultaneous missile attack on Israel
from southern and northern fronts, according to Channel 10
News Agency.
This
year, the exercise comes amid escalating tensions
with Lebanon-based Hezbollah, which threatened to fire
missiles at Israel if it doesn't stop building a wall on its
Lebanese border.
In
the meantime, Lebanon's energy minister, Cesar Abi Khalil, claimed
that Lebanon will explore oil and gas near its maritime border
with Israel. This territory has been claimed by Tel Aviv,
an action that sparked massive condemnation across the Arab
world, according to Washington Post.
Addressing
the Institute for National Security Studies at Tel Aviv
University on Wednesday, Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor
Lieberman said that Lebanon's latest plans to drill in a
disputed offshore oil and gas field known as Block 9 were "very,
very challenging and provocative," according to Reuters.
In
the same speech, the far-right minister threatened to wage a
full-scale war against Lebanon if Hezbollah launched any attacks
against Israel, Reuters reported.
"Unlike
the 2006 Lebanon War, there cannot be images of Beirut's
residents at the beach while [people] in Tel Aviv sit
in shelters. If [people] in Israel sit in shelters
during the next war, all of Beirut will be in shelters,"
Lieberman said.
On
January 28, Israeli Defense Forces spokesman Ronen Manelis also
warned in an op-ed on Lebanese opposition website Ahewar
that a war with Israel could break out Beirut allowed Iran
to develop precision missiles in the country.
"Lebanon
has become — both by its own actions and omissions and
by a blind eye from many members of the international
community — one large missile factory," Manelis wrote,
according to the Jerusalem Post.
"It's
no longer a transfer of arms, funds or consultation. Iran has
de-facto opened a new branch, the 'Lebanon branch.' Iran is here,"
he added.
According
to Israeli Defense Force assessments, Hezbollah is in possession
of an arsenal of at least 100,000 short-range rockets and
several thousand more missiles that can reach central Israel. In
addition to a massive arsenal of rockets and missiles,
Hezbollah is able to mobilize close to 30,000 fighters and
has flouted its tunnel system, complete with ventilation,
electricity and rocket launchers.
This
has been corroborated in Israeli media
Israel
Threatens "Full Strength Ground Invasion" of Lebanon
1
February, 2018
Tel
Aviv is ready for an all-out ground invasion of Lebanon in the event
of a military conflict with Beirut, Defense Minister Avigdor
Lieberman said. His comments come as relations between the two
neighbors continue to sour.
“We
must prepare for maneuvering on the ground too, even if we do not use
it,” the
minister said at a conference of the Institute for National Security
Studies (INSS) held at Tel Aviv University on Wednesday.
Not
mincing his words, Lieberman said that, in a worst-case scenario,
Israel would conduct the operation at “full
strength.” “We
must not take one step forward and one step backward. We will move
forward as fast as possible,” Lieberman
added, speaking about the Israeli strategy in a possible conflict
with its northern neighbor.
At
the same time, he said that “maneuvering
is not a goal in itself,”but
is a means of ending the war in what Tel Aviv sees as the most
efficient way.“No
one is looking for adventures, but if we have no choice the goal is
to end [the fighting] as quickly and as unequivocally as
possible,” the
minister told the conference, adding that Israel’s past experience
has shown that “all
the conflicts in the Middle East” do
not “come
to an end” without “soldiers
on the ground.”
Israel
will act tough on Lebanon, the minister warned. He particularly said
that the situation of the Second Lebanon War, “in
which the residents of Beirut were at the beach and in Tel Aviv [they
were] in bomb shelters,” will
not repeat itself if a new conflict breaks out. “If
in Israel they sit in shelters, then in the next fighting all of
Beirut will be in shelters,” Lieberman
added.
The
minister’s comments come amid Israel’s concerns over the Lebanese
Hezbollah armed group, which allegedly plans to arm itself with
locally-produced precision-guided missiles.
“The
Hezbollah terror organization is violating the UN Security Council
resolutions, maintaining a military presence in the region,
possessing weapons systems and increasing its military
capabilities,” Gabi
Eisenkot, the head of the Israeli Defense Forces General Staff, said
on Tuesday, as cited by Haaretz.
Lieberman
also said that he sees no difference between Hezbollah and the rest
of Lebanon, as he believes that the armed group has enough influence
to control both political and military forces of Israel’s northern
neighbor. “They
are part of Hezbollah and they will all pay the full price” for
any large-scale attack on Israel.
The
last major conflict between Israel and Lebanon broke out in 2006. The
military confrontation, known as the Second Lebanon War in Israel and
the July War in Lebanon, lasted 34 days and ended with a UN-brokered
ceasefire.
In
contrast to Lieberman’s words, the war took a much higher toll on
Lebanon than on Israel. The conflict claimed the lives of 1,191
Lebanese people and left more than 4,400 injured, according to the
local officials cited by a UN report.
More than 900,000 Lebanese had to flee their homes because of the
hostilities.
Israel
reportedly lost fewer than 200 people in the conflict, according to
various sources, with most of them being IDF soldiers. Tensions
between the two nations heightened following a brief November
political crisis in Lebanon.
In
late November, the Lebanese Army asked the military to be at “full
readiness” to
face “the
Israeli enemy” on
the southern border. At the same time, Lebanese President Michel Aoun
said that “Israeli
targeting still continues and it is the right of the Lebanese to
resist it and foil its plans by all available means.”
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