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Lebanon Prepares for War with Israel

Politics Materials 8 April 2008 11:53 (UTC +04:00)
Lebanon Prepares for War with Israel

Azerbaijan, Baku, 8 April / Trend corr R. Hafizoglu, R. Abdullayev/ Israel has stated that training being carried out at the Lebanon border is civil training, but Beirut has taken that as preparation for the war.

"War between Israel and Lebanon is inevitable," independent Lebanese political scientist Vail Alyamin said to Trend .

According to Israeli media reports, on 7 April, the country launched large-scale civil defence training which lasted a week. Associated Press reported that Naim Kasem, a leader of the Hezbollah in Lebanon, took Israel's military training as preparation for a new war with Lebanon. Sheik Kasem said that Hezbollah is totally ready to protect Lebanon should Israel instigate a war.

"The launching of large-scale military training by Israel is non-random," Alyamin, the Director of the Lebanon's '14 March' news agency, said during a telephone conversation from Beirut on 7 April. He said that the war is inevitable and it may begin, if not next month, then in summer.

The political scientist said that in order to prevent the war the Lebanese Government will have to agree to negotiate with Israel, but that will not be of any use. "The Lebanese Government are unable to control certain events in the country," Alyamin said.

"Hezbollah never makes useless promises. Sooner or later they will avenge for Imad Mugniyah (a Hezbollah leader that was killed in February - ed.). Most parts of Lebanese support Hezbollah and the population of Lebanon is ready to fight from a psychological standpoint," he said.

The press service of Lebanese Foreign Ministry did not comment on Israel's training.

An anonymous source at the Israeli Defence Ministry said to Trend that the planned arrangement is not connected with the current events in the region, as that is planned training. "We are carrying out large-scale civil defence training and preparation for war in the region is impossible," the source said.

According to the source, the training is intended to test the work of the National Emergency Service which was established after the Second Lebanese War. The Service is intended to coordinate police operations, rear administration, fire service, first medical aid service, security service, ministries and other state structures.

Speaking in Tel-Aviv at the event dedicated to the injured Israeli soldiers, the Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak said that Israel is seeking peace, not war. "But it is known that the one seeking peace should prepare for war," Barak said citing a popular Latin saying.

The Iranian Foreign Ministry's official Mohammad Ali Hosseini said that the region's countries are keeping an eye on Israel's training and called on world leaders to make Israel the object of discussion. "Unfortunately, after the visit of the US officials to Israel we witnessed bloody actions by Zionists," he said, ISRA news agency reported on 7 April.

As a result of the 34-day war between Hezbollah and Israel in July 2006, 1,200 Lebanon civilians and 158 Israeli servicemen died.

The correspondent can be contacted at: [email protected]

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