While the Iranian danger continues to be one of the main topics at the prestigious Herzliya Conference currently underway, Israel's readiness - or lack thereof - for this past summer's war in Lebanon is also an issue of great importance.
MK Tzachi HaNegbi (Kadima), the Chairman of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, had criticism at the conference of Israel's lack of readiness for the war - and pointed his finger directly at former Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and ex-Defense Minister Sha'ul Mofaz.
HaNegbi (pictured) revealed a document sent by the heads of the Foreign Affairs and Defense subcommittees to Sharon in February 2004. The letter warned specifically that "Iran, via Hizbullah and Syria, has placed over Israel a strategic threat to which [Israel] does not have a complete response. If the array of rockets in southern Lebanon is activated against Israel, a quarter of Israel's population, from Hadera and northwards, will be within their range."
The letter warns prophetically that rocket attacks could paralyze the nation for weeks and could lead to tens of thousands of refugees streaming towards the center of the country. "There is a critical gap," the letter states, "in the intelligence necessary to quickly and effectively paralyze this rocket capability, and without a ground offensive, the rockets could continue to rain down upon Israel for weeks."
HaNegbi said that Sharon and Mofaz did not respond to the letter, and "the feeling was that they did not take it seriously."
Mofaz himself, speaking later in the conference, spoke mainly about how to meet the Iranian nuclear threat - but also about Israel's preparedness for the Lebanon War: "This past summer, we saw how Iran [acted] in southern Lebanon. The intelligence corps of the State of Israel did not close their eyes in recent years, and composed a clear picture of the extent of the weapons prepared by the Iranians in southern Lebanon. In those years, we were prepared - and in fact, the strategic weapons were destroyed in combat within a short time."
Mofaz's use of the definite article "the" is not a matter of consensus, and in fact, it is assumed that Hizbullah remained with a large portion of its rockets intact. Hizbullah central council member Ahmed Barakat said immediately after the ceasefire was signed that Hizbullah still possessed thousands of rockets. "Today Arab and Muslim society is reasonably certain," he said, "that the defeat of Israel is possible, and that the countdown to the disappearance of the Zionist entity in the region has begun…"
MK Tzachi HaNegbi (Kadima), the Chairman of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, had criticism at the conference of Israel's lack of readiness for the war - and pointed his finger directly at former Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and ex-Defense Minister Sha'ul Mofaz.
HaNegbi (pictured) revealed a document sent by the heads of the Foreign Affairs and Defense subcommittees to Sharon in February 2004. The letter warned specifically that "Iran, via Hizbullah and Syria, has placed over Israel a strategic threat to which [Israel] does not have a complete response. If the array of rockets in southern Lebanon is activated against Israel, a quarter of Israel's population, from Hadera and northwards, will be within their range."
The letter warns prophetically that rocket attacks could paralyze the nation for weeks and could lead to tens of thousands of refugees streaming towards the center of the country. "There is a critical gap," the letter states, "in the intelligence necessary to quickly and effectively paralyze this rocket capability, and without a ground offensive, the rockets could continue to rain down upon Israel for weeks."
HaNegbi said that Sharon and Mofaz did not respond to the letter, and "the feeling was that they did not take it seriously."
Mofaz himself, speaking later in the conference, spoke mainly about how to meet the Iranian nuclear threat - but also about Israel's preparedness for the Lebanon War: "This past summer, we saw how Iran [acted] in southern Lebanon. The intelligence corps of the State of Israel did not close their eyes in recent years, and composed a clear picture of the extent of the weapons prepared by the Iranians in southern Lebanon. In those years, we were prepared - and in fact, the strategic weapons were destroyed in combat within a short time."
Mofaz's use of the definite article "the" is not a matter of consensus, and in fact, it is assumed that Hizbullah remained with a large portion of its rockets intact. Hizbullah central council member Ahmed Barakat said immediately after the ceasefire was signed that Hizbullah still possessed thousands of rockets. "Today Arab and Muslim society is reasonably certain," he said, "that the defeat of Israel is possible, and that the countdown to the disappearance of the Zionist entity in the region has begun…"