|
Prepared for the
Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations by the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs
| |||||
To contact the Presidents Conference: click here In-Depth Issues:
Hizballah Threatens to Attack Haifa (Sydney Morning Herald-Australia)
Top Hamas Military Commander Badly Hurt in Israeli Bombing - Thomas Wagner and Sarah El Deeb (AP/Forbes)
Hamas Foreign Minister Knew of Attack on Israel - Yaakov Katz (Jerusalem Post)
Iran Arms Hizballah with Rockets - Michael Eisenstadt and Neri Zilber (Washington Institute for Near East Policy)
Palestinians Welcome Hizballah Attack - Khaled Abu Toameh (Jerusalem Post)
Search Key Links Media Contacts Back Issues Fair Use
|
News Resources - North America, Europe, and Asia:
Responding to Hizballah's attack across the Israeli border Wednesday in which eight Israeli soldiers were killed and two were captured, Israel on Thursday announced a blockade of Lebanon. "Israeli naval vessels have enforced a full naval closure on Lebanon because Lebanon's ports are used to transfer both terrorists and weapons to the terror organizations operating in Lebanon," an Israeli military spokesman said. (Reuters) See also Israel Strikes Beirut Airport Israeli aircraft bombed Beirut International Airport Thursday, rendering all three of the airport's runways unusable. The Israel Defense Forces said it targeted the airport because it served as a central hub for the transfer of weapons and supplies to Hizballah. Israel is targeting areas that Hizballah uses for storing rockets and weapons. (CNN) For Israel the problem is regional, not local - of Hamas, as a part of the regional Muslim Brotherhood, and of Iran, a serious regional power with considerable influence on Syria, Hizballah, Islamic Jihad, and the military wing of Hamas. An Arab intelligence officer working in a country neighboring Israel said it appeared that Iran - through Hizballah - had given support to Hamas political leader Khaled Mashaal to stage the seizure of Cpl. Shalit. Israeli intelligence officers also believe Iran is acting through Hizballah and Mashaal. Former Israeli ambassador to Washington Itamar Rabinovich sees Iran "on a roll, looking for regional hegemony." Even without nuclear weapons, Iran is acquiring considerable influence in Lebanon, in Syria, and with the Palestinians, not to speak of Iraq. "It can directly operate Hizballah in southern Lebanon through Syria, and with Hamas and Islamic Jihad in the territories it can detonate the situation whenever it wants." Gerald M. Steinberg of Bar-Ilan University noted, "Israel is in a long-term operation to reassert security control." (New York Times) See also Iran, Syria Use Lebanese Hizballah Militia - Dalal Saoud and Claude Salhani (UPI) President Bush pledged Thursday to work with Israel, criticizing Hizballah for thwarting efforts for peace in the Middle East, and said that Israel has a right to defend itself in light of the kidnapping of its soldiers. (AP/ABC News) See also U.S. Condemns Hizballah Attack on Israel "Hizballah terrorists operating from Lebanon kidnapped two Israeli soldiers and launched rocket attacks against civilian targets in Israel. The United States condemns in the strongest terms this unprovoked act of terrorism, which was timed to exacerbate already high tensions in the region and sow further violence. We also hold Syria and Iran, which have provided long-standing support for Hizballah, responsible for the violence. We call for the immediate and unconditional release of the Israeli soldiers." "Hizballah's terrorist operations threaten Lebanon's security and are an affront to the sovereignty of the Lebanese government. Hizballah's actions are not in the interest of the Lebanese people, whose welfare should not be held hostage to the interests of the Syrian and Iranian regimes. We reiterate the international community's insistence that all parties in the region fulfill their obligations under UN Security Council Resolutions 1559 and 1680, and cease all support for Hizballah." (White House) News Resources - Israel and the Mideast:
One woman was killed and 29 were wounded when Hizballah-fired Katyusha rockets landed in the northern Israeli city of Nahariya on Thursday. Katyushas also fell on Kibbutz Kfar Hanasi, Kibbutz Mahanayim, Rosh Pina, Kibbutz Hagoshrim, Mishmar Hayarden, Gadot, Beit Hillel, Kibbutz Kabri, Mount Hermon, Mount Meron, Shlomi, and Zar'it. (Jerusalem Post) See also Hizballah Rockets Hit Safed, Several Wounded - Yaakov Katz (Jerusalem Post) See also Hizballah Rocket Hits Israeli Arab Village, Several Wounded (Ha'aretz) Following the escalation on the northern border, residents of northern Israeli communities including Kiryat Shmona, Nahariya, and Kfar Vradim were ordered Wednesday to go into shelters and security rooms. (Ynet News) Israel has filed a complaint with the UN Security Council and UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, saying that the kidnapping of two IDF soldiers was an act of war against Israel by Lebanon, Ambassador Dan Gillerman said Wednesday. The complaint urges the international community to enforce council resolutions calling on the Lebanese government to disarm all militias within its borders and to extend its authority to southern Lebanon and its border with Israel. While the government of Lebanon was the responsible party to be dealt with, "one cannot disregard the bloodstained fingerprints and the twisted minds of Iran and Syria, who are the main perpetrators, harborers, financiers and initiators of terror in this world," Gillerman added. "This axis of terror must be stopped." Iran, Syria, and Hizballah were threatening "the whole region and the world," including moderate Arab states, he said. (Ha'aretz) Global Commentary and Think-Tank Analysis (Best of U.S., UK, and Israel):
Israel has no choice but to hold Lebanon responsible for what happens on its borders and for what comes out of it. The Lebanese government must see itself as responsible for what Hizballah does out of Lebanon, particularly since Lebanon essentially rejected UN Resolution 1559, which called for disarming the militia. Hamas and Hizballah set the rules of the game with the ongoing rocket fire into Israel and the abduction of Israeli soldiers. If Israel loses in handling this, its strategic and military standing in the region will change and its deterrence of guerrilla warfare and high-trajectory weapons will be undermined. (Ha'aretz) The next Middle East war - Israel against genocidal Islamism - has begun. The first stage of the war started two weeks ago in response to the kidnapping of an Israeli soldier and the ongoing shelling of Israeli towns and kibbutzim from Gaza; now, with Hizballah's latest attack, the war has spread to southern Lebanon. The goals of the war should be the destruction of the Hamas regime and the dismantling of the Hizballah infrastructure in southern Lebanon. Israel cannot coexist with Iranian proxies pressing in on its borders. Allowing Hamas to remain in power - and to run the Palestinian educational system - will mean the end of hopes for Arab-Israeli reconciliation not only in this generation but in the next one too. (New Republic) As Lebanon's largest political party and most potent armed force, Hizballah has long been described as a "state within a state" - a Shiite Muslim mini-government boasting close ties to Iran and Syria. But Wednesday's move across the border to capture two Israeli soldiers went a step further: Hizballah acted as the state itself, threatening to drag Lebanon into a war. Hizballah had long planned the cross-border raid aimed at capturing Israeli soldiers after failing in a similar operation late last year. "It's a very dangerous escalation," said Timur Goksel, a former UN spokesman who teaches at the American University of Beirut. "You can't anymore claim it's an act of resistance. It's an act of war." "I never thought Hizballah would disregard so much the Lebanese politics and mood," said Goksel. "It is certainly a very clear message that they are not going to disarm." (Los Angeles Times) Neither Hamas nor Hizballah recognizes Israel, both organizations are well entrenched in areas Israel evacuated unilaterally, both heap scorn openly on both Israel's military prowess and Israelis' ability to stand up under pressure, and both have kidnapped soldiers from sovereign Israeli territory and are holding them in territory they control. If they come out of this war with the upper hand and if they can rightly wave the flag of victory, Israel will be finished. (Ynet News) The Lebanese government cannot deny responsibility for Hizballah, since Hizballah is in the Lebanese government. In addition, UN Security Council Resolution 1559 called on Lebanon to dismantle the armed militias, but that is something the Beirut government never did. The international community, Israel is arguing, also bears responsibility for not forcing Lebanon to implement that Security Council resolution. (Jerusalem Post) Observations: Responding to the Hizballah Attack (Ministry of Foreign Affairs) The government of Israel issued the following statement Wednesday after a meeting of the Israeli Cabinet:
To subscribe to the Daily Alert, send a blank email message to: [email protected] To unsubscribe, send a blank email message to: [email protected] |
||||