News Brief

(IsraelNN.com) Hizbullah is working to create a new stronghold north of the Litani River. The Syrian-sponsored terrorist group has been buying Christian and Druze lands north of the river. Locals believe that the group’s goal is to create a large Shiite Muslim population in the area, and to establish a major Hizbullah center where the group can rearm freely. United Nations forces and the Lebanese Army have been charged with preventing the rearming of Hizbullah following its attack on Israel last summer. However, U.N. and Lebanese soldiers are only required to stop Hizbullah operations south of the Litani River.  

--Erez Levanon, stabbed to death not far from his home in Bat Ayin, was buried in the cemetery in nearby Kfar Etzion, between Hevron and Jerusalem. A number of Levanon’s friends and Knesset Member Aryeh Eldad (National Union) blamed the defense establishment, and Defense Minister Amir Peretz in particular, for failures to address the mounting concerns of Jewish residents for their safety. Police have arrested 18-year-olds Mudar Abu-Dia and Mousaa Ahalil for stabbing him to death.