The IDF yesterday revealed evidence of Hizbullah’s scope of activity in southern Lebanon in preparation for another war.
The Israeli Defense Forces revealed on Wednesday aerial photographs of sites at the village of al-Khiam in southern Lebanon, where the IDF suspects Hezbollah is storing various weapons and even operating headquarters and control centers.
Colonel Ronen Marley, commander of the western brigade at the northern border, commented on the rearmament of Hezbollah: “An event can take place today, or a year from now; I am ready for it to happen by surprise. We are operating in different ways to thwart any event – if one should take place, we will know how to handle it.”
Colonel Marley added that the Hezbollah has recently been collecting intelligence on IDF forces, and sometimes operates in civilian guise. The organization was also engaged in infrastructure works that would prepare it for future fighting.
A senior military source claimed that increased cooperation between Iran, Syria and Hezbollah is giving them an operational advantage and increases their effectiveness ahead of a clash with the IDF. However, the IDF emphasized that despite reports of a new radar operating in Syria, this claim was not familiar to them.
The material presented by the military revealed that 23,000 residents live in the village where al-Khiam Detention Center was operating while the IDF controlled the safety zone in southern Lebanon.
According to information obtained by the security establishment, Hezbollah was now preparing the grounds for the next round of battle with Israel.
The army noted that some 90 activists were operating in the village vicinity, most of them belonging to special forces that are preparing – as soon as they receive the order – to lie in wait for IDF forces, alongside a “welcome” of various demolition charges, anti-tank missiles and pits filled with explosives.
The IDF decided to present the information in order to demonstrate Hezbollah’s scope of activity against Israel, four years after the Second Lebanon War.
The information also revealed that hundreds of short-range mortar shells and rockets have been stored in al-Khiam, and as in the past, intentionally placed adjacent to public institutions, schools and medical facilities.
A military source told Ynet that the images from al-Khiam are not exclusive, and that similar operations were taking place in the entire area. “What you see in this village, you can see in all villages in southern Lebanon. There are some 20,000 activists whose job is, in fact, to act against IDF forces from within the village. When the time comes, they will give our forces a real fight,” the source said.
From the IDF Spox:
The following declassified intelligence maps as well as the 3D animated clip illustrate how Hezbollah, in the four years since the Second Lebanon War, has turned over 100 villages in South Lebanon into military bases. These maps and the 3D clip illustrate how Hezbollah stores their weapons near schools, hospitals, and residential buildings in the village of al-Khiam. They follow similar tactics in villages across southern Lebanon, essentially using the residents as human shields, in gross violation of UN Resolution 1701. al-Khiam was used as a rocket launching site during the Second Lebanon war.
During the Second Lebanon war, Hezbollah stored their weapons in open areas for the most part, which enabled the IDF to locate and destroy their stores. In the four years since then, Hezbollah has pursued a tactic of moving their weapons into civilian villages, essentially institutionalizing the tactic of using human shields on a large scale.
Hezbollah Activity in South Lebanon Since the 2nd Lebanon War
3D animated video clip of the Lebanese village, al-Khiam:
Updates (Israel time; most recent at top)
9:34PM: Tell us how you really feel (language warning)
6:35PM: Further to my previous update, the Jewish Chronicle reports on the British Foreign Office’s reaction:
A Foreign Office spokesman said: “The Ambassador expressed a personal view on Sheik Sayyed Fadlallah, describing the man as she knew him.
“We welcomed his progressive views on women’s rights and interfaith dialogue. But also had profound disagreements – especially over his statements advocating attacks on Israel.”
Fadlallah had called on Palestinians to target Jews, saying: “All of Palestine is a war zone and every Jew who unlawfully occupies a house or land belonging to a Palestinian is a legitimate target. There are no innocent Jews in Palestine.”
6:30PM: If you thought Octavia Nasr’s praise of deceased terrorist Sayyed Mohammad Hussein Fadlallah was bad, check out this blog post from British Ambassador to Lebanon, Frances Guy.
The passing of decent men
One of the privileges of being a diplomat is the people you meet; great and small, passionate and furious. People in Lebanon like to ask me which politician I admire most. It is an unfair question, obviously, and many are seeking to make a political response of their own. I usually avoid answering by referring to those I enjoy meeting the most and those that impress me the most. Until yesterday my preferred answer was to refer to Sheikh Mohammed Hussein Fadlallah, head of the Shia clergy in Lebanon and much admired leader of many Shia muslims throughout the world. When you visited him you could be sure of a real debate, a respectful argument and you knew you would leave his presence feeling a better person. That for me is the real effect of a true man of religion; leaving an impact on everyone he meets, no matter what their faith. Sheikh Fadlallah passed away yesterday. Lebanon is a lesser place the day after but his absence will be felt well beyond Lebanon’s shores. I remember well when I was nominated ambassador to Beirut, a muslim acquaintance sought me out to tell me how lucky I was because I would get a chance to meet Sheikh Fadlallah. Truly he was right. If I was sad to hear the news I know other peoples’ lives will be truly blighted. The world needs more men like him willing to reach out across faiths, acknowledging the reality of the modern world and daring to confront old constraints. May he rest in peace.
4:25PM: In a yet-to-be-aired interview with Israeli television, US President Barack Obama said that Israel is right to be skeptical about the peace process, and while there is hope for peace in the Middle East, he is not “blindly optimistic”.
1:28PM: The dancing IDF soldiers have not been punished after all.
Well, not really.
The dance that rocked the net will get a sequel. Colonel Amir Abulafia, commander of the Benjamin Brigade, summoned on Wednesday two of the soldiers who participated in the IDF dance video, which was uploaded onto YouTube and became an instant hit worldwide.
Abulafia told the two squad commanders that they did not act appropriately by participating in the video while donning their uniform, armor and weapon – but because their behavior did not display any moral flaws, he decided to give them an educational assignment.
The two will star in an educational IDF video that will attempt to prevent similar incidents in the future.
I’d prefer to see them heading our PR department.
9:14AM: They don’t make blind men like they used to.
A Hebron-area family said their home was attacked by settlers on Sunday evening, when their blind grandfather was at home alone.
Hasan Al-Matour, 65, from Sa’ir village north of Hebron said he heard stones being thrown at his house, and “knew that settlers accompanied by troops were there.”
The family said that when they returned home, several window panes were broken.
Alternatively, he can sniff a settler with no problem.
8:38AM: Israeli PM Binyamin Netanyahu interviewed by CNN’s Larry King.
Part One:
Part Two:
Part Three:
Part Four:
Part Five:
6:08AM: Introducing our latest weapon: Zionist Death Snakes.TM
West Bank residents have reported an increase in poisonous snakes across districts with the reptiles leaving their burrows and nests as temperatures rise, in search of food.
Hussein Al-Tawil, 44, said he was called on by residents in the Al-Hawooz area of Hebron to kill a large, 25-year-old snake. Al-Tawil said the reptile lives in a nearby well and eats pigeons raised by the residents.
The snake, he said, is causing a state of fear among Al-Hawooz residents.
Snake experts in Hebron told Ma’an that they will be following up the issue and will notify the public when the snake is caught.
Meanwhile, a Tulkarem resident said the district has become infested with snakes and that local clinics lack anti-venom.
5:55AM: CNN senior editor for Middle Eastern affairs, Octavia Nasr, yesterday tweeted her regret over expressing her sadness upon hearing of the death of Hizbullah terrorist Sayyed Mohammad Hussein Fadlallah.
Today she really regrets it – CNN has fired her.
CNN on Wednesday removed its senior editor for Middle Eastern affairs, Octavia Nasr, from her job after she published a Twitter message saying that she respected the Shiite cleric the Grand Ayatollah Mohammed Hussein Fadlallah, who died on Sunday.
Ms. Nasr left her CNN office in Atlanta on Wednesday. Parisa Khosravi, the senior vice president for CNN International Newsgathering, said in an internal memorandum that she “had a conversation” with Ms. Nasr on Wednesday morning and that “we have decided that she will be leaving the company.”
Ms. Nasr, a 20-year veteran of CNN, wrote on Twitter after the cleric died on Sunday, “Sad to hear of the passing of Sayyed Mohammed Hussein Fadlallah … One of Hezbollah’s giants I respect a lot.”
Ayatollah Fadlallah routinely denounced Israel and the United States, and supported suicide bombings against Israeli civilians. Ayatollah Fadlallah’s writings and preachings inspired the Dawa Party of Iraq and a generation of militants, including the founders of Hezbollah, The New York Times reported on Sunday.
Some supporters of Israel seized on the Twitter posting almost immediately. A Web site called Honest Reporting that says it is “dedicated to defending Israel against prejudice in the media” asked, “Is Nasr a Hezbollah sympathizer? This is disturbing enough given that the group is designated a terrorist organization by the U.S. and is committed to the destruction of Israel.
“And which of Fadlallah’s individual views does Nasr admire?”
CNN officials became aware of Ms. Nasr’s message on Monday, and a spokesman said Tuesday that it was an “error of judgment” on her part. “CNN regrets any offense her Twitter message caused. It did not meet CNN’s editorial standards. This is a serious matter and will be dealt with accordingly,” the spokesman said. Ms. Nasr apparently deleted the post at some point.
In a follow-up blog post on Tuesday evening, Ms. Nasr said she was sorry about the message “because it conveyed that I supported Fadlallah’s life’s work. That’s not the case at all.”
She said she used the words “respect” and “sad” because “to me, as a Middle Eastern woman, Fadlallah took a contrarian and pioneering stand among Shia clerics on woman’s rights. He called for the abolition of the tribal system of ‘honor killing.’ He called the practice primitive and nonproductive. He warned Muslim men that abuse of women was against Islam.”
She continued, “This does not mean I respected him for what else he did or said. Far from it.”
Her explanation was apparently not sufficient for her CNN bosses. Ms. Khosravi wrote in the memorandum, “At this point, we believe that her credibility in her position as senior editor for Middle Eastern affairs has been compromised going forward.” Her exit was first reported by the Web site Mediaite.
I guess she is going to have to change her Twitter name from octavianasrCNN. Perhaps octavianasrPressTV?
