05/05/2010 Israeli defense officials said on Wednesday that Syria has delivered advanced M600 rockets to Hezbollah in Lebanon within the past year.
The M600, a Syrian copy of the Iranian Fateh-110, has a range of 300km and carries a half-ton warhead. If fired from southern Lebanon it would be capable of hitting Tel Aviv.
Latest claims of arms transfers to Lebanon follow recent accusations by Israeli President Shimon Peres that Syria Hezbollah gave long-range Scud missiles, capable of inflicting heavy damage on Israel's settlements.
Other Israeli government figures, including Defense Minister Ehud Barak, have since avoided repeating the claims and it is unclear whether Damascus could have delivered the 44-foot liquid-fueled missiles, handling which requires complex logistics, undetected.
Yet doubts over the Scuds have not masked growing fear in the Israeli defense establishment over Hezbollah's rapidly expanding arsenal. On Tuesday the Israeli army's head of intelligence research, Brigadier General Yossi Baidatz, told the Knesset that the Scud transfer was the "tip of the iceberg".
"Even today Hezbollah has missiles of all ranges types, including solid-fueled rockets that have a longer range are extremely accurate," Baidatz told the Knesset's foreign affairs and security committee.
Baidatz warned that arms transfers were not sporadic but reflected long-term policy in Tehran and Damascus. "Syria and Iran carry out weapons transfers on a constant and structured basis in way that can't be described as simple smuggling – the transfers are official and well-organized," he said.
He added: “Hezbollah's long-range rockets allow them to position launchers deep within Lebanese territory and cover ranges far greater than we aware of in the past. The militant group was far stronger today than in 2006, when it fought a war with Israel,” Baidatz said.
"Hezbollah in 2010 is very different to Hezbollah in 2006 in terms of military capability, which has advanced a great deal," he said, adding "Hezbollah is now regarded by the Syrians as a component of their defense establishment."
Hezbollah of 2006 is different from Hezbollah of 2010 in terms its military capabilities ...which have developed significantly
"... Baidatz on Tuesday briefed the Knesset's Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee that "today, Hezbollah has an arsenal of thousands of rockets of all types and ranges, including long-range solid-fuel rockets and more precise rockets."Posted by G, Z, or B at 9:05 PM
He added, "The long-range missiles in Hezbollah's possession enable them to fix their launch areas deep inside Lebanon, and they cover longer, larger ranges than what we have come across in the past. Hezbollah of 2006 is different from Hezbollah of 2010 in terms its military capabilities, which have developed significantly.
"Hezbollah is in a tense spot between two different identities: Its commitment to Jihad and Iran, and on the other hand, its political considerations in Lebanon and the needs of the Shiite community. Therefore, it has quietly selected its current course of action. The MI believes it is not interested in another wide-scare confrontation with Israel, it fears it, but is preparing for it. The organization still publicly vows to carry out terror attacks against Israel."..."
UNIFIL: "No Scuds in Lebanon"
"UN Interim Forces in Lebanon (UNIFIL) Commander General Alberto Asarta Cuevas stressed in remarks published on Wednesday that there was no proof that Syria had transferred Scud missiles to Hezbollah. "We have around 12,000 soldiers and three Lebanese army brigades in a small area. We haven't seen a thing, .....Scud missiles are big. I'm sure there are no Scuds because it is very difficult to hide them," he added....Asked about the possibility of the eruption of a new war, the UNIFIL commander said no one intends to cause war. ... The United Nations special coordinator for Lebanon Michael Williams also said in April that he did not believe there will be a war in the region despite rising tensions over the Scud missiles allegation."
Posted by G, Z, or B at 2:10 PM
Uprooted Palestinian
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