Defeating Hezbollah is a main objective in Lebanon

Israel's defense minister made the point now, though there's a certain point of contention to be found here:

Defense Minister Israel Katz says Israel remains committed to disarming Hezbollah “through military and political means.”

“Israel’s policy in Lebanon has been and remains clear: the top objective is the disarmament of Hezbollah through military and political means, regardless of the Iran issue,” Katz says following an assessment with military officials.

Katz says the IDF is completing its ground offensive in southern Lebanon up to the line from which Hezbollah can launch anti-tank missiles at Israeli communities.

Well I do hope they realize that allowing the Hezbollah to remain even in northern Lebanon is unacceptable, since it would give them a chance to rebuild one day, with or without Iran's backing. Something that might be called "hudna" in Islamic doctrine. And it's high time that something were done to ensure Lebanon can one day return to having a non-Muslim majority and/or government run the country again, which would make the region safer.

The Hezbollah in Lebanon is just as dangerous as Hamas

Rick Moran reminds everyone that Hezbollah's bound to willing and ready to attack Israel, just like the Hamas did this weekend:

The Hamas invasion of Israel is the most significant military action against the Jewish state ever carried out by a terrorist group. The planning for this attack must have begun months ago in Tehran where the bulk of the funds used to arm and train fighters for the attack originated.

Anyone who refers to Hamas as “freedom fighters” should have their head examined. The terrorists kidnapped dozens of civilians — infants, old people, women — and are holding them somewhere in Gaza. As the IDF looks to turn back the terrorists who have invaded seven different areas in the South of Israel, they must contend with the eventuality of a Hezbollah attack in the North.

Already, Israel has exchanged artillery fire with Hezbollah, and the terrorist’s masters in Tehran have given fulsome praise to Hamas for the attack.

Might Hezbollah join Hamas and hit Israel in the North while the IDF is occupied in the South?

Sarit Zehavi, the founder of the Alma Center, which is a research center in Israel dedicated to understanding their national security situation, told the Washington Examiner that there’s a chance Hezbollah could soon attack Israel with the country’s attention focused on the south.

“It’s just a matter of decision for Hezbollah, whether it wants to join in or not. I believe this decision was not made yet, and that’s why we’re not there yet, but maybe we’re not that far from this place,” she said.“Here in Israel, we are preparing for the scenario of war also from the north because we understand it was within the interest of Iran and Hezbollah to escalate the Israeli-Lebanese border. We see what is happening in the south as a part of a bigger plan to attack Israel and weaken the state of Israel from multiple fronts, and I guess this is what the Iranians now are trying to create.”

Iran’s motives are clear. They want to disrupt the movement toward peace between Israel and their Arab neighbors, begun by Donald Trump. Tehran sees peace — quite rightly — as a massive loss of influence for Iran.

Obviously, they want to destroy chances of peace with Saudi Arabia (though lest we forget, even today, the House of Saud can still be very shady), along with quite possibly other such countries. But that's still nothing compared to the hostage crisis caused by the kidnappings of Israelis by Hamas that's now causing a serious issue. We must hope that won't deter the government from taking serious ground action in Gaza.

Update: Melanie Phillips addressed the crisis, and she makes some vital points:

How could this possibly have happened? Clearly, there has been a massive Israeli intelligence failure. It’s hard not to see a connection with the enormous anti-government protests over the past nine months, which saw Israelis trying to undermine the economy and even refusing to do army reservists’ duty.

Such a paralysing internal battle may have taken official eyes off the security ball. What’s undeniable is that the ferocity and length of these internal convulsions sent a signal that Israel was weakened. Many Israelis have been wondering over these past difficult months just when Israel’s mortal enemies would seize this opportunity to take advantage of this weakness. Now we have the dreadful answer.

And this barbarism has been paid for by the US and EU. What did they think all the money they were channelling into Gaza for “humanitarian” purposes would actually be used for? Now we have the answer.

What did the Biden administration think would be the result of appeasing, grovelling to and funding Iran, the paymasters of Hamas and Hezbollah? Now it has its answer.

America, the EU and Britain have consistently undermined Israel’s attempt to defend itself against attack. For the past century, the west has incentivised exterminatory Palestinian Arab terror against Israel by rewarding it with the promise of statehood — which the Palestinians always made plain they wanted only as a staging post towards Israel’s destruction — and punishing Israel for objecting to this existential threat.

The whole notion army reservists would refuse service over petty issues like judicial reform certainly damaged morale, and from a local perspective, also has to shoulder blame. Why, those would-be reservists should be fired by the army and not welcome to serve ever again, if that's their way of thinking.

Update 2: more news on the issue of kidnap victims.

Update 3: here's information on how the IDF smashed targets in Gaza. There's extra information here too.

ISIS Says Lebanon Will Be Next To Fall

From Neo-Neocon:

Lebanon is different from previous ISIS targets: 

ISIS has announced that Lebanon will be the next state to fall under the sway of its “caliphate.” According to Beirut’s Daily Star newspaper, the only reason ISIS hasn’t attacked yet in force is because they haven’t decided on the mission’s commander… 

A majority of Lebanon’s population is either Christian, Shia, or Druze, and all three populations rightly see ISIS as a potentially genocidal threat to their very existence. Even the Sunnis, though, fear and loathe ISIS. 

Other than the nominal sectarian sameness—ISIS also is Sunni—Lebanon’s culturally liberal Sunnis have little more in common with ISIS than the French or Italians do. 

A serious invasion of Lebanon by ISIS could unleash a bloodbath that makes the civil war in Syria look like a bar fight with pool sticks and beer mugs. It would be tantamount to a Nazi invasion.

Do You Remember October 23, 1983?

From this posting at Creeping Sharia:



Much more at Creeping Sharia.

Al Qaeda Egyptian Plot Uncovered, Israel Threatens Response

IsraelNN.com:

Egyptian officials have uncovered a plot by three Al-Qaeda linked terrorists to assassinate Israeli Ambassador to Egypt Shalom Cohen and to bomb Muslim and Christian sites, the Arabic-language Cairo-based Almasry Alyaom newspaper reported. However, it is not known if the terrorists’ confessions were voluntary or were made as a result of torture.

The cell’s Al-Qaeda connection was a terrorist using the name of Abu Hamdan al-Libi, who apparently is in Iraq after having left Egypt. Other members of the cell also fled Egypt.

The Egyptian State Security Prosecution said that its personnel have been tracking potential terrorist targets. It said the terrorists were unable to break through the tight security around Ambassador Cohen’s home and the embassy.

Relations between Israel and Egypt have been chilly despite the diplomatic ties that were established three decades ago. The United States government reportedly intervened to make sure that Egypt invited Cohen to U.S. President Barack Obama’s “reaching out to Muslims” speech at Cairo University in early June. Cohen attended despite threats by university lecturers that they would block him from entering the campus.

Egypt also recently delivered a strong message to Cohen over the eviction of illegal Arab residents at the Sheikh Jarreh property that is owned by Jews. The envoy’s explanation that the homes in question have been owned by Jews for more than 80 years did not satisfy the Egyptian Foreign Ministry, which insisted that Israel was “dispossessing Arabs of their property."

Israeli response:

Israel will hold Iranian proxy militia Hizbullah and the state of Lebanon responsible for any attempt to assassinate Israelis abroad, and it will retaliate, Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon said Sunday.

But Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon said that Hizbulah was "certainly" the group behind the plot. Speaking on Voice of Israel government radio, Ayalon warned: "I have one message here: If, God forbid, one hair falls off the head of any Israeli representative abroad, or of even an Israeli who is not an official representative, tourists, etc., we will consider Hizbullah responsible. "The outcome, for Hizbullah, will, I think, be of the utmost gravity," Ayalon said. "For Lebanon too.""It is important ... to relay this warning to Lebanon, which is responsible for Hizbullah -- that they will suffer the consequences if they carry out assassinations of Israelis," the minister from the Israel Our Home party added.

Also:

One Jerusalem is asking supporters to contact the White House here, over the outrage of bestowing upon an odious anti-Semite like former U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Mary Robinson our highest civilian honor...

PA Cutting West Bank Deal with Obama

The Palestinian Authority is on the verge of reaching a deal with the Obama administration that will attempt to delineate pre-2000 borders in the West Bank:

Palestinian officials said Monday they were close to reaching an agreement with the US according to which the Obama administration would demand an Israeli withdrawal from positions that were manned by Palestinian forces prior to the outbreak of the second intifada at the end of September 2000.

IDF forces currently controls positions situated at the entrance to large Palestinian cities in the West Bank. The Palestinian Authority is demanding that these positions be moved and that Israeli forces be prevented from entering the cities.

Speaking to Ynet ahead of George Mitchell's scheduled visit to the region, Palestinian officials said they would brief President Barack Obama's Mideast envoy on the PA's continued efforts to maintain security in areas under its control.

According to the officials, part of the Authority's success has to do with the dismantling of various armed groups, particularly those affiliated with Fatah. The PA is working diligently to abide by the security-related clauses of the US-backed Road Map for peace initiative, they said.

"Now it's time for Israel to reciprocate and fulfill its part of the Road Map initiative, meaning the transfer of control to the Palestinian security forces in such a way that by the end of the process PA security forces will return to all the outposts they had controlled on the eve of the second intifada," one official said.

"We've shown that we are acting in accordance with our supreme interest, which is to maintain calm and security so the Israelis will not have an excuse (not to implement the Road Map initiative)," said a PA official.

"Therefore, we will tell Mitchell that we've held up our end of the bargain, and now we expect that a clear timetable be set for the return of Palestinian forces to their pre-intifada positions."

Related Links:

More Lebanese election coverage from Infidels are Cool

Former Israeli Defense Minister claims 2nd Lebanon War altered elections

Israel rescinds order to freeze Church funds in the Holy Land

Prof. Habib Charles Malik who teaches history at the Lebanese American University in Byblos, in Lebanon, speaks about Christian divisions

MR note -- I'm bumping this up so I don't crowd Carlos out. I would like to group Editrixes 2 excellent Nazi/Islam posts & my own together and don't want to shove this that far down. Hope no one minds.

Lebanon Rejects Islamo-Fascism

Lebanese supporters of the Christian Phalangist and Lebanese Forces parties celebrate their victory in the central Lebanese city of Zahleh in the Bekaa valley on June 8, 2009. Lebanon was anxiously awaiting the results of a hotly-contested election on Sunday that could see an alliance led by the Hezbollah militant group unseat the pro-Western majority in parliament. (Sky News-AFP/Getty Images)

Lebanese voters reject Iran, Syria and Hezbollah:

Lebanon's Western-backed coalition has claimed a surprise victory in the country's parliamentary elections.

There was widespread speculation that the hard line Shi'ite group Hezbollah could upstage the vote.

But Hezbollah's leaders have so far accepted the results, making conciliatory comments and urging stability in the region.

Interior Minister Ziad Baroud announced the results from all 26 districts, which showed the coalition won 68 seats in the 128-member assembly.

Supporters of the coalition celebrated for hours after voters renewed their majority in parliament four years after the "Cedar Revolution" that helped drive Syria's army out of Lebanon.

The outcome was a blow to Syria and Iran, which support Hezbollah.

But it was welcome news for the US, Saudi Arabia and Egypt, which back the "March 14" group, named after the date of a huge rally against Syria's military presence in 2005.Hezbollah and its allies swept the vote in mainly Shi'ite areas, but defeat of their Christian ally, Michel Aoun, in two key districts deprived the alliance of the majority many had predicted.

Saad al-Hariri, the Sunni Muslim leader of "March 14", emerged from the poll as front-runner to lead the new government and follow in the footsteps of his assassinated father Rafik al-Hariri."Congratulations to Lebanon, congratulations to democracy, congratulations to freedom," the billionaire politician said in a victory speech at his mansion in Beirut.

"There are no winners and losers in this election, the only winner is democracy and the biggest winner is Lebanon."

The United States, which lists Hezbollah as a terrorist group, has linked future aid to Lebanon to the shape and policies of the next government.

Party on hot Lebanese girls and have a drink on behalf of the Infidel Bloggers Alliance and myself, personally!!!

Lebanon Fate Hangs in the Balance

A Lebanese woman shows her ink-stained finger after casting her ballot at a polling station in Beirut's Christian sector of Ashrafieh, Lebanon, Sunday, June 7, 2009. Lebanese streamed to their hometowns on the Mediterranean coast and high up in the mountains Sunday to vote in crucial elections that could unseat a pro-Western government and install one dominated by the Iranian-backed militant group Hezbollah. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

Voting under way in Lebanon:

(AP) - Lebanese streamed to their hometowns on the Mediterranean coast and high in the mountains Sunday to vote in a crucial election that could unseat a pro-Western government and install one dominated by Iranian-backed Hezbollah.

The race for the 128-member parliament will have repercussions beyond this tiny Arab country's borders. A win for the alliance headed by Shiite militant Hezbollah, which the United States considers a terrorist organization, could bring international isolation and possibly a new conflict with Israel. It could also set back U.S. Mideast policy and boost the influence of Hezbollah's backers, Syria and Iran.

"I voted for reform and change," said Laure Khoury, a 32-year-old school teacher, after voting in the district of Byblos north of Beirut for Hezbollah's Christian allies. "We tried the others for four years and we got nothing but promises and corruption. Enough is enough," she said.

Lebanon has long been a main front in what many see as a power struggle between two main camps in the Mideast—the U.S. and its moderate Arab allies Saudi Arabia and Egypt on one side, and Iran and Syria and militant groups such as Hezbollah and the Palestinian Hamas on the other.

The vote is the latest chapter in four tumultuous years that began with the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri in 2005 in a car bombing. The pro-Western factions swept into power in elections the same year on a sympathy vote. But the government has been virtually paralyzed since by a power struggle with Hezbollah.

Hezbollah's coalition includes the Shiite movement Amal and a major Christian faction led by former army chief Michel Aoun. Opposing it are the overwhelmingly Sunni Muslim supporters of current majority leader Saad Hariri—Rafik Hariri's son—allied with several Christian and Druse factions.

Going into the election, the race for a majority appears too close to call. In the outgoing parliament, the pro-Western bloc had 70 seats and Hezbollah's alliance had 58.

Hezbollah's opponents say if the heavily armed group wins, it would drive Lebanon into the arms of Iran, which could use it as a front in the Islamic republic's confrontation with Israel. (Read entire article)

H/T Pat Dollard

Okay, since I am a devotee of Rule 5 Sunday, I did primarily post this for the gratuitous pic of the hot Lebanese girl!

West needs to wake up to reality of Lebanon

Barry Rubin talks about why the Hezbollah's conquest of Beirut in Lebanon should be serving as a wake-up call for the West.

Hezbollah Takes Beirut

(Hat-tip to Michael)

Blurb from this May 9, 2008 news article:

Gunmen loyal to Nasrallah take control of Muslim part of Lebanese capital, seize outlets owned by governing coalition leader Hariri; Lebanese troops begin taking up positions in some Sunni neighborhoods. Saudi Arabia, calls for emergency meeting of Arab foreign ministers over crisis

Read the entire article here.

Reuters also reports here, in "Hezbollah routs pro-government gunmen; controls Beirut."

Not a word about the above on the morning news?

Update from this source:

- The highway to Tripoli (Tarablous) has been closed. (not sure by which side)

- Death toll in the past 72 hours: 13 dead / +45 injured

- Sporadic gunfire ongoing in Koreitem. Mini markets in Hamra have opened shop for the locals stuck in the area.

- Reports indicate Saniora & Hariri are still in Beirut.

- The government vs opposition fight has moved to the South and North of Lebanon. Akkar [Minieh & Miniara] is a flashpoint, with Hariri's Future Movement militias setting up roadblocks and firing automatic weapons. Tyre (Sour) is also seeing some activity.

- Pro-government media outlets admit defeat of pro-government militias [by opposition militias] in Beirut.

- Italy has just opened up a hotline for its citizens in Beirut. (don't know the number)

- Aoun has just gone on TV to say that the fighting is over, the opposition has won, and the tomorrow all life will be back to normal in Beirut, with a greater sense of safety as the militias have either disbanded or fled, with militia offices and weapons now controlled by the Lebanese Army.

- MEA has cancelled all flights for another 24 hours.