Hezbollah Surprised at Isreals Reaction After Kidnappings

Hezbollah leaders said that they were surprised at Isreals reaction to their kidnapping of two Isreali soldiers. Hezbollah said they thought there would be negotiations to get the two kidnapped soldiers back. They didn't expect Isreal to start a war against them.




Well, I guess they guessed wrong on that one. They seem to treat it like a game. Why didn't they think that sooner or later there would be that final straw that breaks the camels (Isreal's) back.

Then, I like the way they say, "they didn't expect this response, that Isreal would exploit this operation for this big war against us". I think it's just Isreal's way of saying they don't want to play this game anymore.

The part in this article that might cause the biggest headache for a lasting cease fire though is that Hezbollah says they "will not lay down arms". I just can't see a lasting peace in this region with Hezbollah, armed, and in the vicinity of Isreal.



[edit on 25-7-2006 by Keyhole]

Well, I was surprised at Israel's reaction too. The last two PM's negotiated with Hezbollah. How were they to know that this new guy would attempt to make a name for himself, on the backs of innocent civilians, instead of peacefully negotiating?

Yeah, because negotiation really solved the problem, Harlem. All it did was let Hezbollah dig into southern Lebanon. Geez, what the hell were they thinking?

"Let's go commit an act of war by killing eight soldiers and kidnaping two more soldiers of a nation surrounded by blood enemies devoted to the destruction of their state and the genocide of the Jewish people. Yeah, that'll get them talking!"

Well, they screwed up and now look what's happening. Every Hezbollah installation of any nature is considered fair game for the IDF- mostly because they know that historically, Hezbollah really doesn't mind using the innocents aroudn them to deflect bullets from their own fighters and to bring down the condemnation of the international community. It's sad, but that's the facts of life- Israel knows it's backed into a corner, knows that every soldier lost is a blow to its ability to defend itself against yet another act of Arab/Persian aggression.

Well, Hezbollah prodded the wolverine, so I'm hardly surprised it's getting utterly destroyed. All the better. Now, of course, people are going to be openly sympathetic to these terrorists (among other terrorists). But, whatever. There was a simple peace here, like the one in the recently re-occupied territories. The Israelis put up with the odd shelling of civillian targets (a perfectly legit strategy, according to many Palestinian sympathizers). So very simple- don't try to kill Israelis, and Israelis won't try to kill you. Maybe some suppressive/counterbattery fire, but those are the chances you take by firing rockets into playgrounds.

Israel didn't start this.

DE

Originally posted by DeusEx
Well, Hezbollah prodded the wolverine, so I'm hardly surprised it's getting utterly destroyed. All the better. Now, of course, people are going to be openly sympathetic to these terrorists (among other terrorists). But, whatever. There was a simple peace here, like the one in the recently re-occupied territories. The Israelis put up with the odd shelling of civillian targets (a perfectly legit strategy, according to many Palestinian sympathizers). So very simple- don't try to kill Israelis, and Israelis won't try to kill you.

Let's go back a few weeks, before this current conflict in Lebanon started. There was peace in Gaza, then all hell broke loose. Why?

Well, it appears that sometime in mid June, Lebanon discovered a Mossad cell in its territory. Doing what? Murdering Palestinian and Lebanese politians.

This is the ATS thread: Mossad Terror Cell Busted In Lebanon, dated 6/18/06. Unfortunately, the article on Yahoo can't be found, and the one at the Lebanese Daily Star requires registration, but here's the snippet of the full article that they allowed me to see: "Officials from across Lebanon's political spectrum united against Israel Friday, demanding that the international community take action against Israel's Mossad for "carrying out several assassinations of Lebanese and Palestinian figures on Lebanese soil.""

Also in June, Israel kidnapped 18 Palestinian MP's and Cabinet Members. Israel Kidnaps as Hostages Palestinian MPs, Cabinet Ministers, dated 6/29/06. I don't know anything about the site, but the article centered around facts, not rhetoric, so it may be okay as a source.

The links I provided seem to give evidence to the "Israel started it" theory, this time anyway, since the Palestinian peace thing that preceded this most recent assault on Gaza. If this stuff is true, then Israel, during peace talks, kidnapped 18 Palestinian politians, while also assasinating political figures on Lebanese soil. If that's not asking for it, I don't know what is.

(the above has been posted, by me, elsewhere on ATS)

HH said -

Let's go back a few weeks, before this current conflict in Lebanon started.
There was peace in Gaza, then all hell broke loose. Why?

No there wasn't peace. You can't say that there was 'peace' when Hezbollah has
been arming itself; crossing Israeli borders; kidnapping Israelies; and holding them
for ransom to spring criminals from Israeli jails. They do this all the while saying
that Israel shouldn't exist and that they (Hezbollah) will wipe them off the face
of the planet. That isn't peace.

You ask WHY did all hell break loose? Simple. Because Hezbollah won't leave
Israel alone to live in peace and security. Just leave it alone; let it live in peace;
and those Muslims that don't like Israel should leave the area. They can go live
with Muslims in any one of the DOZENS of Muslim countries.

Yeah, because negotiation really solved the problem, Harlem. All it did was let Hezbollah dig into southern Lebanon. Geez, what the hell were they thinking?

"Let's go commit an act of war by killing eight soldiers and kidnaping two more soldiers of a nation surrounded by blood enemies devoted to the destruction of their state and the genocide of the Jewish people. Yeah, that'll get them talking!"

Israel has kidnapped in excess of 2000 people from libanon and put them in jails and stuff without any trial or word where these people are (many are believed to have been killed soon after capture).

What they are saying here about negotiations is that they wanted to use these 2 captured SOLDIERS to negotiate the release of at least some of those 2000+ CIVILIANS Israel kidnapped from Lebanon.

Also in June, Israel kidnapped 18 Palestinian MP's and Cabinet Members. Israel Kidnaps as Hostages Palestinian MPs, Cabinet Ministers, dated 6/29/06. I don't know anything about the site, but the article centered around facts, not rhetoric, so it may be okay as a source.

Hmmm...June 29th. That's five days after Corporal Shalit was abducted, an operation taking at least three to six months of tunnel digging and premeditation. It's also twenty days after Hamas called an end to the ceasefire with Israel, and taking responsibility for the eight hundred plus Quassam rockets launched on Israeli civillian targets launched over seven months.

The links I provided seem to give evidence to the "Israel started it" theory, this time anyway, since the Palestinian peace thing that preceded this most recent assault on Gaza. If this stuff is true, then Israel, during peace talks, kidnapped 18 Palestinian politians, while also assasinating political figures on Lebanese soil. If that's not asking for it, I don't know what is.

Sorry, but Hamas broke the peace seven months before, despite Israel having moved out of Gaza and the West bank in August 2005. the Palestinians took advantage of Israel's attempt at peacemaking in order to bombard civillian targets...like schoolyards. What was Israel supposed to do, after a premeditated attack by an government on its soldiers, in its territory? It's an act of war.

My source. You'll note I stuck to the facts from sources, not claims.

DE

TheMatrix:

The right way and the only way to face that we only save the real estate that will protect everybody and preserve the rights and preserve their safety and the government has declared from the very beginning of the explosive situation that it was not aware of what happened, and did not adopt the operation that Hezbollah has captured two Israeli soldiers, and that did not -- did not cause this.

Hezbollah has no right to destroy Lebanon. And destroy its infrastructure, and this experience pushes us more to withstand and to hold on to the Lebanese state, to protect the Lebanese against any threats and aggression. Lebanon cannot stand if the government is the last one to know and the first one to be asked, the state alone is the only one who has the legitimate decision for peace or war because it represents the will of the Lebanese people, that who wanted to live together. We are facing the aggression today, unified and we will continue to be unified from behind the state, from behind the constitutional institutions.

FOUAD SINIORA, LEBANESE PRIME MINISTER,CNN TRANSCRIPT

Hezbollah isn't even supported by the Lebanese government. It isn't 'negotiating' on behalf of the Lebanese people. It isn't acting on behalf of the Lebanese people. In fact, no reason is really given for their attacks on Israeli civillians and soldiers. Before the kidnapping of these soldiers, Hezbollah shelled Mattat. And the evidence is against their claim of the IDF being in Lebanon, considering that the Israeli Humvee wreckage was found in Israel, according to our good friend Wikipedia.

Hezbollah is in the wrong.

DE

Funny, I also mentioned Mossad activities in Lebanon. Why no response?

Originally posted by DeusEx
My source. You'll note I stuck to the facts from sources, not claims.

What were you implying here?

Sorry I had to be so brief, but I'm supposed to be working now.

No worries, HH. I'm half-dead of the flu.I mentioned the word 'claims' because in almost every source both of us used, one side or another claims an interpretation of events which is rather shaky at best. Therefore, I stick to things that can't be debated- like the words of the Lebanese PM, or the dates on which people were kidnapped, or the fact that attack tunnels don't simply appear magically overnight when you leave teeth for the Terrorist Fairy.

As for this 'apparent' (Very first line of of the article, may I note) Mossad ring, details become increasingly sketchy as you look at the information presented. Namely:

In a bizarre twist, Hussein Khattab, a Palestinian member of the spy ring, who is still at large, is the brother of Sheikh Jamal Khattab, an Islamic cleric who has allegedly recruited Arab fighters for al-Qaeda in Iraq.

From Times article

Right then and there, that's throwing up some red flags. Then, the article goes on to claim that a fifty-nine year old is a meat-eating superassasin. I mean, he apparently has been working for Mossad for over a decade, killing people with car bombs! He 'confesses' in the benevolent custody of Lebanese officials to killing all these high-ranking terrorists, implicating his wife and children. Mmmhmmm. Yeah. I wonder how many fingers he has left after the nice Hezbollah policeman had a 'chat' with him?

Throwing more doubt on it is the leader of the Druze, Walid Jumblatt:

Referring to the murder last year of the former Prime Minister of Lebanon, Walid Jumblatt, leader of Lebanon’s Druze and an outspoken critic of Hezbollah, told The Times: "We are expected to believe that this big spy ring was uncovered two weeks after the killing of the Majzoub brothers, yet Rafik Hariri died in February 2005 and we still don’t know who killed him."

This Mossad cell of old men and relatives of terrorists seems to be getting pretty iffy. Prominent politicians question it, and I'm seeing little actual evidence of this being a Mossad cell, as compared to say, a frame up. We have potentially planted evidence- seeing as how since Hezbollah is so nice and tight with Iran and Syria, they have access to 'code machines and other espionage equipment', right? Oh, and it's hardly a leap that a well-armed terrorist movement has bomb-making supplies.

That just leaves a confession, probably extracted under torture. What an absolutely slam-dunk case againt Israel.

DE

EDIT: Spelling in the first paragraph.

[edit on 27-7-2006 by DeusEx]