Israel dismisses Hezbollah rocket threat as mere electioneering
AFP
Date: 05-26-05
JERUSALEM (AFP) - Israel dismissed threats from Hezbollah that its Shiite Muslim militia can strike the Jewish state with thousands of rockets as desperate electioneering ahead of Lebanon's polls.
On Wednesday, Hezbollah leader Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah said his fighters could hit northern Israel with more than 12,000 rockets, in an address to thousands of supporters in Bint-Jbeil, a Shiite town near the Israeli border.
"Nasrallah's declarations are principally trying to improve Hezbollah's political standing before the elections," said a senior Israeli military official on condition of anonymity.
Lebanese go to the polls in general elections starting on May 29, with voting spread regionally across four consecutive Sundays.
Amiram Levine, a former commander in northern Israel and ex-number two in the country's spy agency Mossad, also accused Hezbollah of making idle threats.
"It's a threat on paper only and I don't think Hezbollah will behave irrationally," Levine told army radio.
Exchanges of cross-border fire and retaliatory Israeli air strikes intermittently rock the district, and Israel has repeatedly called on Hezbollah to disarm in line with UN Security Council demands.
Nasrallah's speech marked the fifth anniversary of the withdrawal of Israeli troops from southern Lebanon after more than 20 years of occupation, a pullout for which Hezbollah's armed wing was widely credited in the country.
"Nasrallah's comments are blackmail," a close aide to Prime Minister Ariel Sharon told AFP.
"Of course Israel will react if we are attacked," said the source, accusing Nasrallah of making inflammatory statements in order to disguise fears his militia would be forced to disarm.
UN Security Council Resolution 1559 passed in September 2004 calls for an end to all foreign interference in Lebanon and for militias to disarm.
Syrian troops have already withdrawn from Lebanon in keeping with the resolution, jacking up international pressure on the Iranian- and Syrian-backed Hezbollah to follow suit and comply.
Youval Steinitz, the chairman of the Israeli parliament's defence and foreign affairs committee, said Hezbollah's fighters had no choice but to disband.
"It's going to happen. That's why Nasrallah's under pressure. He cannot make his presence felt with such meaningless declarations," said Steinitz.
Nevertheless, Israel's security establishment is on the alert for increased Hezbollah activity on the northern front as Israel concentrates on its planned withdrawal from the Gaza Strip this summer.
Military officials fear the Shiite movement could try to take advantage of Israel's preoccupation with Gaza to unleash a show of force and demonstrate its support of the Palestinian cause by bombarding northern Israel.
Source
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