Mohamad Shmaysani
Source: almanar.com.lb, 14-08-2009

The growing power of Hizbullah in the wake of the July 2006 war has been one of the main concerns in "Israel" as the so called ‘Second Lebanon War' that was launched to crush the Islamic Resistance backlashed and had devastating repercussions in Tel Aviv. "Israeli" political and military echelons as well as intelligence bodies conceded defeat even before the Winograd Committee Report formally established it. "Israel" also admitted that Hizbullah has succeeded in the past three years in building a massive, advanced and powerful missile system that accurately covers every inch of occupied Palestine with a significant destructive ability.

"Since the Second Lebanon War, Hizbullah has tripled the number of its missiles that can now reach cities as Bir Sabaa (Beersheva) and Dimona," "Israeli" War Minister Ehud Barak said.

"Among Hizbullah's missiles are heavy ones equipped with a guiding system such as the Fateh - 110 missile that can cover a range of 250 kilometers with a 500 kilogram warhead. Such missile is capable of very accurately hitting and destroying whole building blocs. Therefore, the "Israeli" army's ability to deploy reserve soldiers and to direct IAF operations will be extremely complicated. This is why, in any future confrontation, we will see the IAF pulling back to the south to avoid such missiles," Alon Bin David, an "Israeli" military expert, told "Israeli" television.

"We have to ask ourselves: Are we ready to cope with the expanding power of Hizbullah or are we going to take the initiative to counter it? This is problematic knowing that when Hizbullah decides something, no one can stand in its way," Ami Dror, the former head of the research department in the "Israeli" military intelligence, said during a television interview.

Hizbullah's missile system has been "Israel's" main concern but not its worst nightmare. There have been speculations in "Israel" that Hizbullah now possesses effective air defense systems that, if true, could strip "Israel" of its main element of superiority: Its air force.

""Israel" has conveyed a strong warning to Syria not to transfer air defense batteries to Hizbullah. There is serious concern in "Israel" that such systems could reach Hizbullah's hands and could restrain the IAF's reconnaissance operations over Lebanon," Ehud Yaari, an "Israeli" expert in Arab affairs told "Israeli" television.

Confusion in "Israel" has been evident, especially when the "Israeli" security institution is sparing no effort to study every possible option to counter "Hizbullah's growing force." This indicates that recent threats by "Israeli" leaders only reflect Tel Aviv's state of staggering between what's bitter and what's more biting.

Hizbullah warned "Israeli" that Hizbullah has been preparing itself on every level to face any future aggression, with more trained fighters and more surprises.