Subscribe to Print Edition | Fri., October 09, 2009 Tishrei 21, 5770 | | Israel Time: 22:16 (EST+7)
Haaretz israel news English
web haaretz.com
Jewish World Haaretz Toolbar
Diplomacy
Defense Opinion National
Print Edition
Car Rental
Focus U.S.A. Strenger than Fiction Business Real Estate Magazine Week's End Anglo File Books
Share |
Last update - 09:13 11/08/2009
ANALYSIS / Israel's threats to Lebanon only boost Hezbollah
By Zvi Bar'el, Haaretz Correspondent
Tags: Lebanon, Syria, Israel News 

Which Lebanon exactly does Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hold responsible for every Hezbollah action? Two months following the elections, Lebanon still has no government. The prime minister-designate, Sa'ad Hariri, just returned on Monday from a vacation in the south of France, the distribution of portfolios has yet to be completed and is likely to be delayed further due Walid Jumblatt's decision to quit the majority bloc, and there does not appear to be anyone in Lebanon that is moved by the Israeli threats.

At the same time, it is clear to all parties in Lebanon that the Israeli threats to harm civilian infrastructure as retaliation for a Hezbollah attack have no basis since such reprisals will bear no influence on anyone within or without the Beirut government. The Lebanese public has already weighed in on its preference during the last elections in which Hezbollah was dealt a crushing blow (yet still wields considerable political leverage in the country).

Any Lebanese government would be compelled to stand behind Hezbollah in the event that civilian installations are attacked by Israel. The Syrian government, which has always been the address on which to assign responsibility, is behaving as if it is not involved in the domestic Lebanese arena to the point where it has even garnered praise from the U.S. and France. This time, Damascus can once again evade the brunt of responsibility.
Advertisement
Hezbollah, which has volleyed back the Israeli threats with some of their own, is also unmoved by statements uttered by Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon. Sources close to the organization have been quoted in Lebanese newspapers that they are certain Israel will not attack without approval from the American administration. In their view, Washington has no interest in any escalation that can derail Obama's diplomatic plans and spoil the closer ties that are developing between the U.S. and Syria.

There is widespread agreement in Lebanon that an extraordinary set of circumstances whereby Hezbollah executes a massive, high-casualty terrorist attack would leave Israel little alternative but to attack. Yet, in the present situation in which Hezbollah is carefully calculating its political moves in Lebanon, the assessment holds that it will choose to refrain from such an adventure. Hezbollah is now in a comfortable position in which Israel's threats bolster its arguments for continued armament as part of the Lebanese "defense alignment." The Shi'ite militia views itself as a legitimate partner to the Lebanese army.

A different question arises from the link between the plot to target the Israeli ambassador in Egypt and Hezbollah. According to statements given to Egyptian authorities, the terror cell belongs to an extreme Islamist group which conspired to commit a series of attacks and robberies in Egypt. Their ideological goal was to rattle the existing order in Egypt to the point where the regime would fall. Yet, in contrast to Ayalon's rush to link the terror cell with Hezbollah, the Egyptian reports make no connection between the two organizations
PROMOTION: Mamilla Hotel
Bookmark to del.icio.us  
 
Israel's noble victory
Israeli scientist Ada Yonath becomes first woman to win Nobel in chemistry since 1964.
Using the Holocaust
Netanyahu harms the ethics of memory that Ahmadinejad is incapable of endorsing.
  1.   Better served Israeli public. 04:21  |  David 11/08/09
  2.   Who Cares If Hezbollah Is "Boosted" Or Not? 04:25  |  Jeff Northridge 11/08/09
  3.   Better served? 07:50  |  yeremiahou 11/08/09
  4.   yes Jeff. 11:18  |  John and the truth 11/08/09
  5.   even bibi ought to understand 11:34  |  john and the truth 11/08/09
  6.   well, guys, .... 11:46  |  john and the truth 11/08/09
  7.   about attacking civilian infrastructures 15:25  |  Vincent 11/08/09
  8.   Like Duh! 15:31  |  Mark Lincoln 11/08/09
  9.   Yes, John and the lie 16:02  |  Israeli citizen 11/08/09
  10.   Please stop Mr Bar`el, you`re making me laugh 16:04  |  Stephen 11/08/09
  11.   Israel Threats to Lebanon Viewed To Deflect From World Opposition 16:56  |  Monitor 11/08/09
  12.   Monitor-One MAJOR issue with your claims 17:57  |  Arie 11/08/09
  13.   Lebanon got what they deserve: a Nazibollah state 18:03  |  maurice 11/08/09
  14.   just an opinon 19:09  |  Lebanese Forever 11/08/09
  15.   Public support in Lebanon 19:17  |  Patrick 11/08/09
  16.   Question 19:49  |  Gerg 11/08/09
  17.   Haaretz advocating a "do nothing & die" policy 19:52  |  Roger 11/08/09
  18.   Big Mouth - Bad Joke 20:01  |  Ussishkin 11/08/09
  19.   BOOST? 20:05  |  TC 11/08/09
  20.   Syrian Arie---you should tell Syia to stop it,s aggression. 20:22  |  Labhras 11/08/09
  21.   Zvi Bar`el, Iran is boosting Hezbollah 21:23  |  Cipora Julianna Kohn 11/08/09
  22.   to n#16 Greg 22:16  |  Lebanese Forever 11/08/09
  23.   Hiz aims missiles at Israel, world condemns Israel 00:48  |  T. Traub 12/08/09
  24.   Mullah Mafia - Sicily and Shi``ite a funny comparison 04:50  |  soeasytomakefriends 12/08/09
  25.   Undefined country 08:29  |  cuban 12/08/09
  26.   What Threats?? 10:30  |  Momo 12/08/09
  27.   Somewhere the threats got twisted, I think it was Lebanon against 11:03  |  lily 12/08/09
  28.   #16 Gerg 11:05  |  Tip 12/08/09
  29.   monitor 12:52  |  udi 12/08/09
  30.   lebanese forever 13:09  |  israeli forever 12/08/09
  31.   Netanyahu`s Phone Call 13:12  |  Walid 12/08/09
  32.   walid 13:25  |  udi 12/08/09
  33.   attack, attack 17:18  |  bob 12/08/09
  34.   :)) 02:59  |  T.h 18/08/09
  35.   John and the truth 03:58  |  John and reality 24/08/09
  36.   Walid 04:01  |  Sabra 24/08/09
  37.   Nasralla 22:03  |  Gus 09/10/09
Special Offers
Advertisement
Eldan Rent a Car
Israel's leading car rental company offers you a 20% discount on online reservations
Holiday Greetings from the Heart
LIBI-Caring for Israeli Soldiers
JGooders Special Rosh Hashanah Gift Cards
Send Gift Cards to you Friends and Family and Taste the Sweetness of Giving
Date Local Jewish Singles
Ready to meet your match? Join Jdate today!
Junkyard
Junk a car - get free towing nationwide and a tax-deductible receipt
Amazing Jewelry
Visit SoKoBe.com for the best priced fine jewelry in the world
More Headlines
20:54 Obama 'surprised and deeply humbled' by Nobel prize
19:11 Israel leaders hail Obama Nobel win, hope for 'new era of peace'
19:12 ANALYSIS / Obama's Nobel win seen as 'daring' bet on future
20:55 Palestinians want urgent UN debate on Gaza report
20:16 Israeli seriously wounded by Palestinian stone throwers in West Bank
22:04 Ra'anana man held for killing mother, wounding brother
20:10 Last surviving leader of Warsaw ghetto uprising laid to rest
01:37 TV ROUND-UP: Police on alert at Al-Aqsa Mosque; How many nukes do we have?
12:11 Jordan's King to Haaretz: Nuclear transparency applies to Israel as well
16:19 Jordanians protest Israeli measures in East Jerusalem
18:00 Stone-throwing Arabs hurt 11 Border Policemen in Jerusalem
16:13 Under Netanyahu, Abbas has gone from 'good Palestinian' to foe
Home | TV | Print Edition | Diplomacy | Opinion | Arts & Leisure | Sports | Jewish World | Site rules |
| Advert: Recommended Restaurants | Makom: Engaging on Israel
| Search engine marketing
Haaretz.com, the online edition of Haaretz Newspaper in Israel, offers real-time breaking news, opinions and analysis from Israel and the Middle East. Haaretz.com provides extensive and in-depth coverage of Israel, the Jewish World and the Middle East, including defense, diplomacy, the Arab-Israeli conflict, the peace process, Israeli politics, Jerusalem affairs, international relations, Iran, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, the Palestinian Authority, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, the Israeli business world and Jewish life in Israel and the Diaspora.
© Copyright  Haaretz. All rights reserved