Israel Warns Hezbollah: "Consequences Would Be More Painful Than One Can Imagine"
Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak on Tuesday responded to threats by Lebanon”s Hezbollah militia by saying any attack would prompt an unimaginably painful response from Israel.
"I want to say here, on the border, that I don”t recommend that Hezbollah test us because the consequences would be more painful than one can imagine," Barak said during a visit to the Israeli-Lebanese frontier area.
Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah vowed last week to avenge the killing of top commander Imad Mugniyah, who died in a February 2008 car bombing in Damascus which the party blamed on Israel.
"I want to tell the Lebanese government we would hold it responsible," Barak said, according to a statement by the Defense Ministry.
Barak also expressed concern that Syria could transfer weapons to Hezbollah; something he said would "change the strategic balance and force Israel to act."