Barak declares Israeli military readier than in 2006
Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak says the Israeli military is better prepared for a conflict than it was before the summer 2006 war against Lebanon, Israel”s Jerusalem Post newspaper reported on Tuesday.
"It really inspires confidence and warms the heart to see the efforts made to implement lessons learned from the flaws of the war, under very difficult financial constraints," Barak said during a visit to a technology and logistics base at Tel Hashomer. He added that the way the army had equipped itself would "bolster its operational capabilities."
The defense minister said the improvements had been made with "real professionalism and impressive efficiency."
On Sunday evening, Barak met with the commander of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), Major General Claudio Graziano, in Tel Aviv for what have been official described as customary talks on the implementation of Security Council Resolution 1701, which ended the 2006 war and beefed up UNIFIL to some 13,000 troops operating south of the Litani River.
The meeting "was nothing related to anything particular or … urgent," said UNIFIL deputy spokesman Andrea Teneti. "The meeting was basically conducted [in] the framework of regular liaison meetings."
Sunday”s rendezvous followed a Wednesday meeting between Graziano and the Israeli military”s chief of staff, General Gabi Ashkenazi, Teneti told The Daily Star on Monday.
Media reports have speculated that Israeli concerns over Hizbullah”s rearming prompted or dominated Sunday”s gathering, but Teneti said the sides discussed "mainly Ghajar, violations in general and respect for [Resolution] 1701."
The Blue Line cuts Ghajar in half, and UNIFIL has proposed the withdrawal of Israeli troops from the Lebanese half of the village in line with 1701.
Amos Yadlin, the head of Israel”s military intelligence, said on Sunday that Syria had become an "arms depot" for Hizbullah weapons.
Resolution 1701 stipulates disarming all militias in Lebanon, which would include Hizbullah as well as Palestinian groups, and ending the illegal sale and smuggling of weapons into Lebanon.