Security forces on the northern border with Lebanon are on high alert as Hizbullah appears to be stepping up its preparations to launch a wide scale attack against Israel to avenge the death of its top commander Imad Mughniyah. The Syrian troop build up along the Lebanese border is also a cause of concern to the Israeli security establishment as well as the US Administration, who have already warned Damascus to refrain from interfering in Lebanon.
Meanwhile in Israel police and security forces are also on high alert and prepared to quell any disturbances that may erupt in Israel Arab areas in response to the rioting in Acre over Yom Kippur.
The Italian daily Corriere della Sera reported that Iran appointed Mughniyeh’s successor and new Hizbullah military commander identifying him as Riza Zahdi, otherwise known as Hassan Mahdawi who served in the Eighties in the Iranian Embassy in Beirut. The daily reported that Iran has become more involved in assisting Hizbullah since the Second Lebanon War, providing it with funds as well as weapons. Zahdi will be in charge of coordinating weapons smuggling from Syria to Lebanon as well as overseeing the construction of military posts in southern Lebanon.
The current situation is further proof of the double game played by Damascus, on one hand Syrian President Bashar Assad has expressed wishes to engage in peace talks with Israel and on the other hand he continues to support terror permitting weapons, explosives and other commodities to be transferred across the Syrian border to Hizbullah.
Hizbullah itself has rebuilt and refurbished its combat infrastructure in southern Lebanon , where the majority of villages have vast underground bunkers built underneath existing buildings. With the help of Iran and Syria, Hizbullah has also re stocked its arsenal and has tens of thousands of long and short range missiles in its possession.
One might ask if the current bout of violence in Acre is also part of a greater Arab plan to cause unrest inside Israel in order to divert the security establishment’s attention and facilitate an attack by Hizbullah.
Iran's consolidation of its control over Hizbullah is viewed as an attempt to gain the ability to fully direct its military forces in the event of a conflict in the Middle East. If Iran is attacked by the US or Israel, it may now be in the position to order Hizbullah to retaliate on its behalf.
The same may go for the Israeli Arab sector, in the event of a war in the region the recent days of violence could turn into large scale attacks on the Israeli Jewish population, a situation that Israel Police and Israeli security forces may find hard to contain. The possibility is quite real, especially taking into account the renewal of violence in Acre on Friday and calls by the Islamic Jihad for all Palestinians to take to the streets as a mark of solidarity with the Israeli Arabs living in Acre and the entire country. 10/10/08
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