(IsraelNN.com) Foreign Ministers of the Arab League countries arrived in Beirut Wednesday, planning to hold meetings designed to find a solution to the latest civil war in Lebanon.  Meanwhile, however, Israel fears that Iran, via its proxy Hizbullah, is settling in on its northern border.

Some 80 Lebanese have been killed in the recent spate of violence between Hizbullah and the Lebanese government.  Backed by Iran and Syria, Hizbullah has a strong grasp over southern Lebanon, and has long represented a threat to the western-backed Lebanese government headed by Prime Minister Fouad Seniora.

The Hizbullah terrorists briefly seized parts of the capital city of Beirut last week, but then abruptly moderated their stance and returned control to the army.  The army agreed not to follow government orders to fight against Hizbullah.

Meanwhile, a top Iranian diplomat and former ambassador to Syria who now serves as an advisor to Iran's supreme spiritual leader, told an Arab newspaper, "The sons of the Palestinian and Lebanese resistance [Hamas and Hizbullah -ed.] are the legitimate sons of the Islamic Republic of Iran."

Iranian Presence on Israel's Northern Border
Hizbullah's strengthening in Lebanon means that Israel's mortal enemy, Iran, has a stronger presence on Israel's northern border.  Israeli Ambassador to the UN Danny Gillerman explained, "Weapons are flowing to Hizbullah, Lebanon is being torn apart and is bleeding... Iran is on our northern border, and, to some extent, on our southern border as well."

Gillerman said that the international community had better take action "for the benefit of Lebanon and the entire region." 
 
The ceasefire that ended the Second Lebanon War - in which Prime Minister Olmert took great pride - has not been fully implemented, Gillerman charged: "The captive soldiers Eldad Regev and Ehud Goldwasser have not been released, the embargo on weapons to Hizbullah and the other militias is not in effect, and Hizbullah has not been disarmed."

Hizbullah Has No Interest in Taking Over the Country
Ron Ben-Yishai, the military commentator for the daily Yediot Acharonot, says that Hizbullah chieftain Nasrallah currently has no interest in taking over Lebanon. 

"The events of the past few days in Lebanon have not worsened the situation," Ben-Yishai wrote, "but merely reveal to all the current situation. Nasrallah simply did us all a favor by revealing to all that the Lebanese government is just one of several forces operating in Lebanon - and not the most important of them. It is now clear to everyone that Hizbullah is running a state within a state, and that the Seniora government is serving Hizbullah and Iran by giving them a cover of international legitimacy."

That is why Hizbullah did not complete its takeover of Lebanon, Ben-Yishai feels: "Both Nasrallah and Iran know that it was only the cries for help by Seniora that saved the Shiite population in Lebanon from massive infrastructure attacks by the Israel Air Force during the war. They also see what happened to Gaza after Hamas took over there, and they fear similar international sanctions if they officially take over Lebanon.  In addition, Hizbullah does not now want a full-scale war in Lebanon, which would weaken [Hizbullah] and would hamper the efforts by Syria and Iran to rebuild its rocket arsenals."

In light of this, Ben-Yishai predicts, Israel need not fear an imminent attack by Hizbullah against Israel, as the terrorists have no current interest in shaking up the status-quo.

Timor Goksel, a former spokesman for United Nations Interim Forces (UNIFIL), similarly told the San Francisco Chronicle that Hizbullah has the wherewithal to take over if it wanted: "There is no civil authority in the country now. If they [Hizbullah] had used their weapons during the clashes, tomorrow there would be no army and no country."