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What Can Israel Learn from Hizbullah's Battles in Syria?

(Channel 2 TV-Mako-Hebrew) Ehud Yaari - For a number of weeks, Hizbullah has been fighting along a chain of mountains on both sides of the Syrian-Lebanese border. Hassan Nasrallah has invested thousands of fighters in an effort to block ISIS and Jabhat al-Nusra from connecting with the Sunni areas of Lebanon near Tripoli in the north. So far they have been able to stop the infiltration of car bombs into Beirut, but Hizbullah has suffered heavy losses, with some 1,000 killed so far on this front. What can Israel learn from the fighting? First, this is the first time that Hizbullah is learning how to manage attacks of battalion size and larger. Second, some 7,000 of Hizbullah's fighting forces, and particularly its commandos, are gaining combat experience. Third, Hizbullah is preparing for the day after Assad and is expanding its areas of control to protect its bases in the Bekaa Valley and southern Lebanon. Fourth, Hizbullah is able to act broadly in Syria without harming its deployment opposite Israel or its rocket arsenal, demonstrating the ability to operate on two fronts at the same time. Whatever happens to Assad, Hizbullah will have to continue to give preference to the Syrian front and the threats from the east, with the front against Israel remaining secondary.
2015-06-30 00:00:00
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