NEXT ROUND OF MIDEAST WAR GAMES SETTING UP
Surprise, surprise, surprise! NOT.
‘Hezbollah is arming Gaza for a new war on Israel’
Israel’s spy chief has given a warning that Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip are garnering increasing numbers of weapons and tactical expertise from Hezbollah fighters since the war in southern Lebanon erupted earlier this summer.
Yuval Diskin, the director of Shin Bet, Israel’s equivalent of MI5, said Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula was being used as a terrorist base and fast becoming a haven for arms smugglers preparing to shift their wares into the Gaza Strip. He added that within Gaza terrorists were building rocket hideouts, a bunker network and an anti-tank missile arsenal as they prepared for an escalated confrontation with Israel.
So what else would you expect? They’re Hezbos, doing what Hezbos do. In addition, it seems that there are other fish to fry at the same time:
Israel plans for war with Iran and Syria
Threatened by a potentially nuclear-armed Tehran, Israel is preparing for a possible war with both Iran and Syria, according to Israeli political and military sources.
The conflict with Hezbollah has led to a strategic rethink in Israel. A key conclusion is that too much attention has been paid to Palestinian militants in Gaza and the West Bank instead of the two biggest state sponsors of terrorism in the region, who pose a far greater danger to Israel’s existence, defence insiders say.
Hmmmmm. Not exactly what Olmert’s peace platform wanted, but hey, funny things happen if you get mugged by reality!
The Israeli defence establishment believes that Iran’s pursuit of a nuclear programme means war is likely to become unavoidable.
“In the past we prepared for a possible military strike against Iran’s nuclear facilities,” said one insider, “but Iran’s growing confidence after the war in Lebanon means we have to prepare for a full-scale war, in which Syria will be an important player.”
Too bad. If the IDF had gone ahead and totalled out the Hezbos when they had the chance, then “Iran’s growing confidence” wouldn’t be there, and the problem would be less than it is now.