Is Fateh El Islam trying to use Israel to pressure the Army?
This just in:
Two Katyusha rockets hit the northern town of Kiryat Shmona on Sunday afternoon, in the first rocket strikes on northern Israel since the end of the Second Lebanon War last summer.
Also, according to tayyar, a third missile landed next to a UNIFIL outpost.
Israeli and Lebanese security sources suspect the source NOT to be Hezbollah, and Israeli TV is speaking of Fateh Al Islam. (source: tayyar)
Fateh El Islam might be trying to put pressure on the Lebanese Army, which is “90% percent finished with Naher el Bared” according to Naharnet. The Islamists might want to pressure the Army by proving it can provoke the Israelis into another war unless it stops shelling the camp.
**Update (from Tayyar)**
Olmert: Those who shot the missiles wanted us to respond.
Hello, my name is Mustapha and I've been blogging about Lebanese society, business and politics since February 2005.
Reuters:
Lebanon’s Hezbollah denied it had any part in the firing of Katyusha rockets into northern Israel on Sunday.
“We had nothing to do with this,” a Hezbollah spokesman in Beirut said in reference to the attack.
What this is, Mustapha, is Syria’s attempt to 1- get UNIFIL packing to go home, and 2- reopen the Lebanon front after Iran has established a new front in Gaza with Hamas.
This is part and parcel of their ongoing strategy of blackmail in order to terminate the tribunal, re-dominate Lebanon, and get the Israelis in a process that would cement all that.
Thanks mike h for the link,
Tony,
I believe what you’re saying, but I just can’t imagine a way in which Syria can pull that off.
A clandestine missile launched in a hit-and-run fashion and lands next to a UNIFL location is not going to send packing a force that was established under a strong UNSCR to end a war..
I’m happy to hear that apparently the Lebanese army prevented a fourth missile to be shot at Israel. Pity that they were too late to stop the first three. They claim btw that Palestinian forces were behind the firing.
I don’t quite understand Hezbollah’s position in relation to the Palestinians in Lebanon. They both seem to hate Israel. If someone can explain this to me?
If there is one country in the world that gives you a headache because it is so confusing, it’s Lebanon!
If there is one country in the world that gives me a headache beacuse it is so confusing, it’s the USA. I still can’t figure out the unconditional support for Israel the USA gives.
Regarding this rocket launch attack, I hope this is not the start for round 2.
awaiting the HZB reaction to the launching of rockets from the south. A statment denying responsibiliy is NOT ENOUGH. Until today there is no clear position on nahr elbared war. there is no clear support to the lebanese army. The rockets launching needs to be strongly condemned. If any statment coming short of condemnation and backing up the lebanese army in the north, it will indicate that the HZB has taken the damn decision to undermine the lebanese sovereignty and hijack its institutions including its arm forces. These bunch of outlaws have to be stopped before lebanon will only become history. It is crucial times that our country is facing, nothing compared to the 1975 war, this war is played by so called lebanese but with total allegiance to the biggest Satan of all Iran. These mullahs an Imams and “Said’s” have to be wiped out they are foreign to the lebanese cultural experience which promotes tolerance freedom and love of life. It is imperative today to all Lebanese to take a clear stand on this issue. It will decide on what Lebanon we want.
Ibn Kais, with respect, the US hardly gives “unconditional support” for Israel. If you understood our mutual history better you’d realize this; in fact Israel has had to earn this very conditional and often dangerous support, often paying with Israeli blood. The US Government is no monolith but consists of competing interests, some of which are locked into the oil industry and other geostrategic considerations. This was particularly manifest during the Cold War.
At the same time the US is only beginning to really understand Middle Eastern people, culture and history and has often been clumsy at best.
But – the American people and usually the Government do support Israel because they have a very clear understanding, unlike most in the Middle East, of Jewish history and are far less tarnished by traditional judenhass than the Europeans.
It’s that simple. A great deal of grief could be ended is people just read unbiased history and tried to understand this.
Instead there’s a fog of propaganda obscuring simple realities that date back several centuries before Rome. The nature both of Israel and of Zionism, and of the Jewish people, are frequently colored by the worst kinds of slander including “The Protocols,” frequently quoted by Hamas and Hezbollah, and even Mein Kampf. Similarly WWII and Mandate Era history are not fully understood by most and the very word “Zionism” is completely distorted to the point that it’s become a dirty word.
The fact is, we can all get along and support EACH OTHER if we merely take the time to study and learn. There are rational and peaceful solutions to all our problems but the first thing we have to do is cut through the miasma of lies and misunderstandings.
No, one rocket is not going to get UNIFIL to pack and leave, but in light of what the Syrian hyenas smelled from D’Alema, they figure the more they push, the more likely they can get concessions.
I’d just like to draw attention to the fact that according to Naharnet Israel responded immediately by shelling south Lebanon with some missiles, while according to Haaretz Israel did not respond and the missiles that landed inside Lebanon were katyushas fired by the militants themselves.
Can anyone here shed some light on what has really been happening? The Haaretz story sounds more credible to me in this case.
Rockets will not do much at this point unless they come from HA. Olmert has been burnt in the ass once.
Which begs the question, what does this ‘amateurish’ attack mean?
And if the violence cards are running out, will there be a violent joker that will be played against the state and innocent people, under the umbrella of a made up teghoghist group.
The news wires seem to suggest that a massive re-arming in hardware and the brainwashed was occurring. It is becomes disturbing when you consider that it has been happening for quite a while, and only part of it has been used (The Nahr El-Bared episode), if any of these reports is accurate. What cards are left?
Traveller, the IDF shelled the Shebaa farms in a preemptive strike as a precaution.
Be safe.
@another_someone: why would Israel shell land it has in its hands?
@ another someone:
thanks for your response, but according to Haaretz the missiles were fired from Taibe, a little east of Kfar Kila; then why would the IDF shell the Shebaa region, more than 20 km northeast of Taibe, in a “preemptive strike”…?
To me other reports I have read seem more credible, namely that one or more of the missiles fired by the militants were meant for some village on the Israeli side of the border but ended up in Lebanon itself.
@ suzanne: I guess meant Shebaa, not Shebaa farms.
If you look at the over-all situation and the Hezbollah loss of popularity – you have to ask the question –
Who NEEDS a war? Hezbollah is an army in search of an occupation a’la resistance and the resistance becomes “Divine” when they are lucky enough to have a war.
Israel says … not this time Bud, we are on to your game. We won’t give you that war you NEED.
Who believes that Hezbo has no contacts or influence with the Syria backed Terror groups in the camps?
Sophia Says:
June 17th, 2007 at 8:13 pm
Ibn Kais, with respect, the US hardly gives “unconditional support” for Israel.
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
RFLMAO Sophia, so the whole thing is one big misunderstanding. If you believe that then I have something to pass on to you: Hizbollah does not get its weapons from Syria and Iran, nope. Please, spare me your intellectual BS and history lessons. If the US was even handed in addressing the Arab-Israeli conflict, we’d be in a better spot. Israel is missing out on every golden chance for peace in the middle east due to greed,and blind US support; and with each decade passing, a harder line emerges among the Arabs.
@traveler, there is this – i believe – misleading news some news agencies spread that Israel reacted by shelling 4 shells to Lebanon. The first I read it in a Belgan source and secondly in a Chinese source. No other respectable news agency is picking up this story. Now, why is that? Perhaps because it is not true.
And:
It is also conflicting other stories in which Israel says to withhold any reaction and just stayed monitoring the whole situation.
@kais, you surely do misunderstand Israel. The way you address Sophia, however, makes me reluctant in replying to you with more details.
Suzie, go ahead give it a shot. I really doubt I misunderstand Israel. There is no such misunderstanding in the middle east these days. Let’s see: Iran trying to go nukes to join the elite club in the ME (Paksitan, India, Israel) and fend off “pre-emptive” strikes. We can thanks G. W. Bush the stupid BAC for that. Sunni vs Shia in Iraq, enough said. Israel imposing palestinian refugees on neighboring Arab countries, not reaching for any “real” solutions for the occupation, long line of avoiding the right thing to do, now deal with Hamas, leads to Palestinian civil war. Syria screwing Lebanon for what its worth to serve the interests of the Syrian/Iran axis. The USA? well the USA is still as stupid and clueless as ever. The lebanese? well we pay the price for all of these ass(*&^$
Isnt it a bit too easy to blame “big and small satan” for all the troubles you have with yourselves?
Kais, why would expect any (ANY!!!) country to be even handed? Allegiances between countries are made and broken all the time.
Just because Lebanon does not have interests of its own does not mean nobody else suppose to. Actually it is the other way around.
Oh, and stop blaming everyone else. Your manure is for you to shovel.
Suzaane & Leo
This was not about putting the blame elsewhere, the Lebanese owe a big slice of their problems, and this not how this thread started. Having ass*&^%$ like you on the other hand feeding the fire doesn’t help. The fact that you use the word “satan” is indicative of your backward mentality. Go ahead, keep thinking the USA cannot improve its foreign policy and don’t cry when you’re hated more and more around the world.
@ Suzanne,
You wrote that no respectable news agency is picking up the news. I read it on Naharnet, though: http://www.naharnet.com/domino/tn/NewsDesk.nsf/getstory?openform&245BBB516A4FA4E6C22572FD005D67D2.
Normally I do respect Naharnet, though they obviously make mistakes too (remember the “poisonous balloon” incident some time ago…?).
Nevertheless I agree with you that it is most probably not true. Someone who lives closeby confirmed to me that Israel has not retaliated.
Mustapha, have you seen this?
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1181813062514&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull
Kais @ 18: “Israel imposing palestinian refugees on neighboring Arab countries, not reaching for any “real” solutions for the occupation, long line of avoiding the right thing to do, now deal with Hamas, leads to Palestinian civil war. Syria screwing Lebanon for what its worth to serve the interests of the Syrian/Iran axis. The USA? well the USA is still as stupid and clueless as ever. The lebanese? well we pay the price for all of these ass(*&^$”
Kais @ 21: “This was not about putting the blame elsewhere, the Lebanese owe a big slice of their problems, and this not how this thread started.”
Yes, this is not how thread started but this were you pushed it. So, stop whining when you get hit back. And please, stop asking for #2. You want it no more than any of us does. Your cheap bravado is laughable.
PS. I am through feeding the troll.
leo,
As I said, your backward brain limits your chances for comprehending things beyond the limits of imagination. Good luck buddy, you sure need it in life. There is always a bigger brighter world out there after all, you just have to see it. No wonder yur name is Leo, what happened to Syria under the “Leo” legacy has been beyond catastrophic.
kais, please take your medicines for tonight.
I hope that in case a more significant attack takes place, our politicians wake up and address the source (Syria) and not the launch pad. Which might be hard to do now, with the Gaza mess ongoing.
By the way, Louis-Noel, thank you for the book recommendations, i’ll check.