PM expects calm summer, fall, despite impending war warnings
Speaking at IDF graduation ceremony, Olmert says there's no justification for 'eve of war' atmosphere.
By The Associated PressThe summer season will be calmer than some people think, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said Tuesday, countering persistent reports predicting a new war.
Olmert, speaking at a graduation ceremony in Jerusalem for the Israel Defense Forces' command college, said people on both sides of Israel's borders want peace, not war.
"I firmly believe that the coming summer and fall will not be too hot," Olmert said. "There is no place for creating an atmosphere of 'the eve of war.'"
Ever since last summer's inconclusive war between Israel and Hezbollah guerrillas in Lebanon, which cost Olmert most of his public support, Israeli media, quoting anonymous security officials, have been warning that the probability of another war this summer is high.
"Our neighbors know very well that we prefer to sit with them and talk about peace instead of proving that we are stronger then they are," Olmert said. "In the north and east [Lebanon and Syria], there are millions of people who want peace and quiet, just as we do," he said.
Last month, Deputy Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff Moshe Kaplinsky also said that he does not believe the IDF will go to war with Syria this summer, contrary to past estimates.
"We believe, as I personally believe, we needn't expect a war with Syria this summer," Kaplinsky said at a meeting with military reporters in Tel Aviv on the first anniversary of the Second Lebanon War.
Kaplinsky added, however, that "we cannot ignore what we are seeing: a growing Iranian involvement in promoting regional instability, Syrian involvement in the rearming of the Hezbollah following the war in Lebanon, and the preparatory measures being taken by the Syrian army."
In April, Hezbollah Deputy Secretary General Sheikh Naim Kassem told the British newspaper the Guardian that the group is rearming and is prepared for another war this summer.
"We are prepared for the possibility of another adventure or the demand of American policy that might push the IDF [Israeli Defense Forces] in that direction," Kassem said.
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Prime Minister Ehud Olmert attending a graduation ceremony for the National Security College in Jerusalem on Tuesday. (AP) |
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The Jersusalem Post has a story on a Channel 10 interview with a Hizbullah officer who contradicts Nasrallah's claims and who states, among other things, that their fighters would have surrendered if the war had gone on for ten more days and also that Hizbullah officers were forced to move launchers among civilian population because of how quickly and frequently Israeli planes were finding and taking out the first sites from which Katyushas had been launched. It seems singularly brave for this Hizballah officer to give this interview and SINGULARLY COWARDLY for Haaretz not to be running the story.
absolutely no reason why palestinains, israelis, and everyone else should not enjoy peace. just do it. even the most difficult of issues can be resolved with determination and creativity. israel is here to stay. the palestinians are no going anywhere. so it is in both nations interest to get it done. now bush wants a legacy, here you go....
who cares and who is interested what this incompotent traitorous,pathetic idiot,says'or thinks? this idiot has lost all credability with the israeli people the citizens of israel have as much faith in this criminal,as they have in the drunken wino passed out in the gutter so please spare us of his opinions,they mean nothing to us,zilch nadda
On the eve of Yom Kipur 1973,the IDF was also under the impression that everything was peaceful...egypt and syria prepared massive attacks "under the nose"of the IDF,and it costed more than 9000lives...Beware of the impressions of peace and calm
So what, in any case the homefront needs to be protected just incase he is wrong! The shelters in the North and center of the country need to be readied,gas masks handed out in both areas, and hospitals that are major trama centers like Rambam, Seiff need to be fortified in anycase. Of course the IDF must also be in tip top form,with everything the soldiers need as well as making sure that if there is a war, the reserves that are called up have flack jackets ,ammo,helmets, and food! Talk about peace is great but you must prepare for war too!