Defense Minister Amir Peretz said Sunday morning that the IDF is enforcing a security zone of nearly one mile across the Lebanese border with Israel and will not allow the Lebanese army to deploy there until an international force is in place.
Lebanese Defense Minister Elias Murr has warned the Hizbullah terrorist organization that any attempt to attack Israel and violate the ceasefire agreement will be considered an act of treason and that violators will be punished.
However, he also has called Hizbullah terrorists "brothers" and has stated that the Lebanese army will not forcibly disarm them.
Peretz has equated the Lebanese government forces with Hizbullah and said during the weekly security cabinet meeting, "We must prevent the continued arrival of a Lebanese army force up to two kilometers away from the border before a multinational force is stationed there first." He was adamant about preserving the peace and the safety of Israel’s citizens. "We will not allow Hizbullah to approach the border with Israel again," he emphasized.
Murr is being equally adamant about keeping things quiet on the border. At a news conference held at the Defense Ministry in Beirut, he said, "The army will be very tough in dealing with such an issue." Murr said that Hizbullah was committed to the ceasefire agreement; and therefore "any rocket that is fired from the Lebanese territory would be considered collaboration with Israel to provide a pretext to strike." The concern seemed aimed at other terror groups that might try to draw Israel into a new conflict.
Regardless, Israeli leaders have little faith in the Lebanese army’s ability to be tough on the terrorists who have for all practical purposes owned the country’s southern region for the past six years, following former Prime Minister Ehud Barak's order for the sudden withdrawal of IDF soldiers.
Although Israel said it would withdraw troops when the international force is in place, that day may be long in coming. European nations who initially pledged to send hundreds and in some cases thousands of troops to participate in the expanded United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) are now backing out, one after the other. Each one cites the same concern: there are no specific rules of engagement for the troops that outline exactly when and how and under which circumstances they are allowed to fire.
United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan has stated that he sent the countries clear guidelines and that "the ball now is in their court," but few European nations so far have been willing to commit.
Lebanese Defense Minister Elias Murr has warned the Hizbullah terrorist organization that any attempt to attack Israel and violate the ceasefire agreement will be considered an act of treason and that violators will be punished.
However, he also has called Hizbullah terrorists "brothers" and has stated that the Lebanese army will not forcibly disarm them.
Peretz has equated the Lebanese government forces with Hizbullah and said during the weekly security cabinet meeting, "We must prevent the continued arrival of a Lebanese army force up to two kilometers away from the border before a multinational force is stationed there first." He was adamant about preserving the peace and the safety of Israel’s citizens. "We will not allow Hizbullah to approach the border with Israel again," he emphasized.
Murr is being equally adamant about keeping things quiet on the border. At a news conference held at the Defense Ministry in Beirut, he said, "The army will be very tough in dealing with such an issue." Murr said that Hizbullah was committed to the ceasefire agreement; and therefore "any rocket that is fired from the Lebanese territory would be considered collaboration with Israel to provide a pretext to strike." The concern seemed aimed at other terror groups that might try to draw Israel into a new conflict.
Regardless, Israeli leaders have little faith in the Lebanese army’s ability to be tough on the terrorists who have for all practical purposes owned the country’s southern region for the past six years, following former Prime Minister Ehud Barak's order for the sudden withdrawal of IDF soldiers.
Although Israel said it would withdraw troops when the international force is in place, that day may be long in coming. European nations who initially pledged to send hundreds and in some cases thousands of troops to participate in the expanded United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) are now backing out, one after the other. Each one cites the same concern: there are no specific rules of engagement for the troops that outline exactly when and how and under which circumstances they are allowed to fire.
United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan has stated that he sent the countries clear guidelines and that "the ball now is in their court," but few European nations so far have been willing to commit.