(Times of Israel) Avi Issacharoff - Standing on the Israeli side of the frontier with Lebanon, you can see a military outpost where Hizbullah troops keep close track of the movements on both side of the border. Security Council Resolution 1701, adopted at the end of the Second Lebanon War in 2006, prohibits any Hizbullah presence south of the Litani River, well north of the border. But that doesn't stop Hizbullah from maintaining a large presence in the area. On the Israeli side, officials are following the deepening cooperation between the Lebanese army and Hizbullah. This coordination will require Israel to put a great deal of thought into planning what to do about the Lebanese army in the next war. The new close relationship of Lebanon and Hizbullah comes as a consequence of a common fight against the Islamic State, where they are working shoulder-to-shoulder in regions near the Syrian border. Along the Israeli border, Hizbullah operatives, sometimes in civilian clothing and sometimes in Lebanese army uniform, often participate in vehicle patrols, Israeli officials say. In southern Lebanon, every village has been transformed into a fortified Hizbullah bastion. Each possesses an entire array of command and control and communications systems, and a variety of arms including rockets and anti-tank weapons.
2017-02-13 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive