Israel Drawing Up Battle Plans For Next Lebanon War
Ryan R. Jones - All Headline News Middle East Correspondent Jerusalem, Israel (AHN) - The Israeli defense establishment is already drawing up battle plans for the next conflict with Hezbollah, which is expected to be complicated by the presence of up to 15,000 U.N. troops and the Lebanese army. Next time around, the Israel Defense Forces will not be able to simply invade and roll across southern Lebanon, a senior officer told The Jerusalem Post Sunday. Israeli forces will also have to be careful to avoid engaging foreign peacekeepers and Lebanese troops. The defense establishment believes the next round of fighting could come within the next year, especially after the U.N. decided to keep French Gen. Alain Pellegrini on to lead an expanded U.N. Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL). Another officer said, "In the past, UNIFIL proved that it did not deal well with Hezbollah. If Pellegrini takes the same approach again it could endanger the ceasefire and create a conflict sooner than expected." Israel's Military Intelligence believes Hezbollah will want to take a year break from fighting with Israel in order to rebuild its war-making capability after this summer's intense 34-day conflict. In related news, the IDF's Northern Command has reportedly received orders to keep its remaining forces in southern Lebanon deployed a little bit longer. All Israeli troops still in southern Lebanon are said to be within two mil |
