Sgt. Denis Laminov, who was killed on Friday in a Hizbullah attack in the Mt. Dov region, was buried in his hometown of Holon. He is the 17th Israeli to have been killed in Hizbullah-initiated attacks since Israel withdrew from southern Lebanon four years ago.
In contrast to the relatively low number of Hizbullah-related casualties, many analysts assess that the withdrawal was a major factor leading to the outbreak of the Oslo War five months later and its almost 950 Israeli casualties. "It appears that the withdrawal from Southern Lebanon had a great influence on the Palestinians," wrote Shlomo Brom of the Jaffee Center for Strategic Studies, for instance. "The withdrawal from Lebanon reinforced the perception among them that Israel is vulnerable to terrorism and guerrilla warfare, and that the staying power of the Israeli public has been damaged. This example encourages them to keep on with the struggle, based on the assumption that Israel's resolve will break first. In this limited sense, the unilateral withdrawal may be seen as having given the Palestinians an incentive to continue the violent confrontation."
According to Labor MK Ephraim Sneh, who served as Deputy Defense Minister in the past, Hizbullah has 12,000 rockets in Lebanon that can reach as far as Haifa and Hadera. Maariv's military analyst Amir Rappaport writes today that "sooner or later, Israel will initiate a large-scale attack against Hizbullah."
IDF forces uncovered another arms-smuggling tunnel in southern Gaza last night.
In contrast to the relatively low number of Hizbullah-related casualties, many analysts assess that the withdrawal was a major factor leading to the outbreak of the Oslo War five months later and its almost 950 Israeli casualties. "It appears that the withdrawal from Southern Lebanon had a great influence on the Palestinians," wrote Shlomo Brom of the Jaffee Center for Strategic Studies, for instance. "The withdrawal from Lebanon reinforced the perception among them that Israel is vulnerable to terrorism and guerrilla warfare, and that the staying power of the Israeli public has been damaged. This example encourages them to keep on with the struggle, based on the assumption that Israel's resolve will break first. In this limited sense, the unilateral withdrawal may be seen as having given the Palestinians an incentive to continue the violent confrontation."
According to Labor MK Ephraim Sneh, who served as Deputy Defense Minister in the past, Hizbullah has 12,000 rockets in Lebanon that can reach as far as Haifa and Hadera. Maariv's military analyst Amir Rappaport writes today that "sooner or later, Israel will initiate a large-scale attack against Hizbullah."
IDF forces uncovered another arms-smuggling tunnel in southern Gaza last night.