IDF officials have selected their primary targets in case they are faced with returning to battle with the Hizbullah guerrilla organization in the north, and say next time they will also aim for the Lebanese infrastructure.
According to a report published in The Jerusalem Post, all Lebanese infrastructure would be considered a valid target due to Hizbullah’s influence in the country’s government. During the 2006 Second Lebanon War, the IAF strikes were limited to Hizbullah neighborhoods and rocket-launching positions.
Hizbullah has a number of Ministers in the Cabinet, as well as a significant faction in the parliament itself. The terrorist organization has been given veto power over parliamentary decisions, has been allowed to keep its private military force and has even been permitted to develop its own weapons supply.
The group’s influence is also expected to grow in the next elections, slated to be held in 2009.
More to the point, its military force at present is four times stronger than it was at the start of the Second Lebanon War, with a current weapons stockpile of some 40,000 rockets.
Two years ago, the southernmost target in Israel within range of Hizbullah rockets was Hadera. According to the Post, that is no longer the case: currently Arad, Yeruham and Dimona, with its nuclear reactor, are all within reach.
Lebanon’s political factions plan to discuss the fate of Hizbullah’s weapons stockpile in context of the formation of a national defense strategy for the country when they resume talks on December 22.