So, what do you think- when we go into Iraq, is all h#ll going to break loose? If Iraq attacks Israel, Lebanon (Hezbollah) attacks Israel, Syria supports Lebanon, Iran backs Hezbollah- seems like it could get real nasty real fast.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/01_02_03/art1.asp
Israelis flex muscles with overflights, mock attacks
UNIFIl warns of ‘unnecessary escalation’
Maurice Kaldawi
Daily Star staff
Fresh from its general elections and amid heavy American pressure on Iraq, Israel has flexed its military muscle by staging several mock air raids over Lebanon the past two days, prompting concern from UN officials and outrage from Lebanese quarters.
Israeli warplanes overflew the South on Friday after staging mock raids over Palestinian refugee camps there the previous night.
An army communique said that six Israeli warplanes violated Lebanese airspace at 11.05am Friday, flying at a high altitude over the South and the northern Bekaa before leaving Lebanon 40 minutes later.
An earlier communique said that Israeli jets flew over Sidon and Tyre, as well as over Iqlim al-Kharroub, at a low altitude between 10pm and 10.40pm Thursday, drawing anti-aircraft fire from the ground.
The low-flying aircraft sparked panic as they pretended to “dive-bomb†and overflew refugee camps near Sidon.
UNIFIL adviser Timor Goksel said that although the flights were not concentrated over the force’s area of operation, they were a matter of concern as they would lead to “unnecessary escalation and tension†in the region.
Palestinian gunmen in Ain al-Hilweh, the country’s largest refugee camp, and Hizbullah fighters were reported to have joined with volleys of automatic fire directed at the jets and army units deployed in the South were placed in a state of alert.
In Israel, military officials reported that Hizbullah fighters fired anti-aircraft shells in the western sector of the border. No casualties were reported on the Israeli side.
It was the first time in more than a year that Israeli warplanes are known to have flown at night over the South.
The mock raids followed Tuesday’s resounding re-election of Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon on a tough security platform.
Meanwhile, Foreign Minister Mahmoud Hammoud condemned the Israeli violations of Lebanese airspace, describing them as aggression against the country’s sovereignty and a disregard for international law.
Defense Minister Khalil Hrawi said the overflights demonstrated Israel’s “rejection of the logic of peace,†as it came on the heels of Sharon’s re-election and the UN Security Council’s decision to renew UNIFIL’s mandate for a another six months.
He said that the Security Council had urged Israel to stop violating Lebanese airspace and said Beirut was “confronting the violations through diplomatic and military means.â€
“Through this tension, (Israel) is trying to play a role in the Iraqi crisis. It seeks to be present in the Middle East arena through its military power,†he added.
A member of Hizbullah’s consultative council, Sheikh Mohammed Yazbek, said during a Friday sermon in Baalbek that Israeli overflights “will not scare us and we are in the highest state of preparedness.â€
The results of Israeli elections have “demonstrated the Zionists’ adoption of Sharon’s plan to liquidate the Palestinian people,†he added.
In similar remarks, leading Shiite cleric Sayyed Mohammed Hussein Fadlallah said in his sermon that the success of Israeli hard-liners in the elections “illustrates the Jewish truth, namely that the Jews in Palestine give their support to whoever kills Palestinians more.â€
Another leading cleric, Sheikh Abdel-Amir Qabalan, vice-president of the Higher Shiite Council, told worshippers that Israel had chosen war, while the Arabs had chosen “humiliation.†He said that while the Arabs were calling for peae, Israel was responding with “challenges and aggression.â€
Edited for clarity.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/01_02_03/art1.asp
Israelis flex muscles with overflights, mock attacks
UNIFIl warns of ‘unnecessary escalation’
Maurice Kaldawi
Daily Star staff
Fresh from its general elections and amid heavy American pressure on Iraq, Israel has flexed its military muscle by staging several mock air raids over Lebanon the past two days, prompting concern from UN officials and outrage from Lebanese quarters.
Israeli warplanes overflew the South on Friday after staging mock raids over Palestinian refugee camps there the previous night.
An army communique said that six Israeli warplanes violated Lebanese airspace at 11.05am Friday, flying at a high altitude over the South and the northern Bekaa before leaving Lebanon 40 minutes later.
An earlier communique said that Israeli jets flew over Sidon and Tyre, as well as over Iqlim al-Kharroub, at a low altitude between 10pm and 10.40pm Thursday, drawing anti-aircraft fire from the ground.
The low-flying aircraft sparked panic as they pretended to “dive-bomb†and overflew refugee camps near Sidon.
UNIFIL adviser Timor Goksel said that although the flights were not concentrated over the force’s area of operation, they were a matter of concern as they would lead to “unnecessary escalation and tension†in the region.
Palestinian gunmen in Ain al-Hilweh, the country’s largest refugee camp, and Hizbullah fighters were reported to have joined with volleys of automatic fire directed at the jets and army units deployed in the South were placed in a state of alert.
In Israel, military officials reported that Hizbullah fighters fired anti-aircraft shells in the western sector of the border. No casualties were reported on the Israeli side.
It was the first time in more than a year that Israeli warplanes are known to have flown at night over the South.
The mock raids followed Tuesday’s resounding re-election of Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon on a tough security platform.
Meanwhile, Foreign Minister Mahmoud Hammoud condemned the Israeli violations of Lebanese airspace, describing them as aggression against the country’s sovereignty and a disregard for international law.
Defense Minister Khalil Hrawi said the overflights demonstrated Israel’s “rejection of the logic of peace,†as it came on the heels of Sharon’s re-election and the UN Security Council’s decision to renew UNIFIL’s mandate for a another six months.
He said that the Security Council had urged Israel to stop violating Lebanese airspace and said Beirut was “confronting the violations through diplomatic and military means.â€
“Through this tension, (Israel) is trying to play a role in the Iraqi crisis. It seeks to be present in the Middle East arena through its military power,†he added.
A member of Hizbullah’s consultative council, Sheikh Mohammed Yazbek, said during a Friday sermon in Baalbek that Israeli overflights “will not scare us and we are in the highest state of preparedness.â€
The results of Israeli elections have “demonstrated the Zionists’ adoption of Sharon’s plan to liquidate the Palestinian people,†he added.
In similar remarks, leading Shiite cleric Sayyed Mohammed Hussein Fadlallah said in his sermon that the success of Israeli hard-liners in the elections “illustrates the Jewish truth, namely that the Jews in Palestine give their support to whoever kills Palestinians more.â€
Another leading cleric, Sheikh Abdel-Amir Qabalan, vice-president of the Higher Shiite Council, told worshippers that Israel had chosen war, while the Arabs had chosen “humiliation.†He said that while the Arabs were calling for peae, Israel was responding with “challenges and aggression.â€
Edited for clarity.