Israeli Defense Minister hints at another war with Lebanon

Barak hints at another war with Lebanon


Global Research, August 7, 2009
Press TV


Israeli Defense Minister hints at Tel Aviv's intention to launch another offensive against Lebanon, saying the war would be more devastating than the 2006 war.

"We cannot accept that a neighboring UN member state should have in its government representatives of a militia that has more than 40,000 rockets," Ehud Barak said Thursday referring to Lebanon's Hezbollah resistance movement.

While claiming that Israel did not strike at Lebanon's infrastructure hard enough during the summer war of 2006, Barak said that Tel Aviv would use all its force in a possible conflict on Israel's northern border.

"If there is a conflict on our northern border, we will use all necessary force," the Israeli minister said, adding that Lebanon's infrastructure was spared as a result of pressure from the United States.

"What happened in the second Lebanon war will not happen again... at the time a message from the United States indicated we must spare Lebanon's infrastructure," he continued.

Lebanon's Hezbollah movement dealt a heavy blow to the armed-to-the-teeth Israeli army for the first time in history after Tel Aviv launched an all-out war on Lebanon in the summer of 2006 in an effort to destroy the country's resistance movement.

Israel's Winograd Report confirmed the failure.

The war destroyed a large portion of the country's infrastructure in the south.

The 33-day war killed at least 1,200 people in Lebanon, most of them civilians, and 160 in Israel, mostly troops.

Barak also pointed out that Hezbollah continues arming itself and Israel must ensure certain types of weaponry should not enter Lebanon.

Tel Aviv's accusations against the Lebanese resistance movement come while the United Nations peacekeeping forces in southern Lebanon (UNIFIL) have repeatedly warned about Israel's daily violation of Resolution 1701.

"We have daily air violation of Lebanese territory (by Israeli planes), we have repeatedly asked the Israeli government to refrain from breaching the UN resolution," Andrea Teneti, UNIFIL Deputy Spokesman said.

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