Hizbullah Attack on Israel Imminent, Israeli Official Says
Israeli military intelligence chief Amos Yadlin has said a Hizbullah attack on the Jewish state was imminent.
"There is significant indication that Hizbullah is likely to launch a terrorist attack on the northern front or in Gaza," Yadlin warned the Israeli cabinet during its weekly meeting on Sunday.
Yadlin said Hizbullah”s pretext for the attack would be issues related to Shebaa Farms and Ghajar as well as the assassination of top Hizbullah commander Imad Mughniyeh.
He accused Palestinian factions in Gaza "which are not in favor of peace of planning to carry out a massive attack."
"Now that the prisoner swap with Hizbullah has taken place, the defense establishment is concerned that Hizbullah may embark on a calculated, escalated show of force along the Lebanese border, and try to disrupt the Israeli flyovers," Yadlin said.
Israel has gathered intelligence showing the increasing strength of Hizbullah in Lebanon, the Israeli daily Haaretz reported.
It said similar information was delivered to the United Nations during a visit to New York a month ago by Brig. Gen. Yossi Beiditz, head of research at Military Intelligence.
Haaretz quoted a political source as saying that Israel is very frustrated because the phenomenon of arms smuggling is not sufficiently addressed in relevant U.N. reports, including the most recent one three weeks ago, nor is it fully acknowledged in European capitals – particularly in countries that are contributing contingents to the peacekeeping force in southern Lebanon.
It said Israel has closely followed Hizbullah”s rearmament since the signing of the cease-fire agreement after the July 2006 war, but last week became even more adamant about the need to put an end to the arms smuggling.