Report: Hezbollah vows to carry out more abductions of IDF troops

[pelsar]

Hezbollah will make more attempts to kidnap Israel Defense Forces soldiers, according to statements made Saturday by the deputy head of the Lebanese Shi'ite militia, Sheikh Naim Kassam, Army Radio reported Saturday.

According to the report, Kassam made the statement during an interview with a Qatari newspaper, in which he said that Hezbollah is in a state of war with Israel, which "continues to infiltrate the skies of Lebanon and poses a serious threat."

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1003440.html

what a surprise...i wonder if the Lebanese govt knows about this?....

[notfullofit]

1. Lebanise unity

snip...

There have also been recent statements issued by both Palestinian and Lebanese groups affirming the utility of kidnapping Israeli soldiers in order to ensure the safe return of Arab nationals in Israeli prisons. Sheikh Qasim indicated that his position on this was that "we are in a state of war with Israel," so promising any degree of "tranquility" would be "meaningless." He continued, saying that "Hizbullah's policies to defend Lebanese land and counter threats will be determined by political echelon on the right time."

When pressed on the subject, Qasim said that he did not want to "talk about this issue because it has to do with military confrontation with Israel, and whether that confrontation would necessitate such abductions, that would be determined in time."
snip....

Sheikh Qasim also added that the prisoners deal affirmed Lebanese unity which will create positive atmospheres internally. He highlighted the importance of him standing side by side ext to Lebanese president Fuad Siniora as they welcomed Samir Quntar and the other freed prisoners, was enough to tell that Hizbullah sincerely looks forward to turning a new page with all parties in Lebanon

http://www.maannews.net/en/index.php?opr=ShowDetails&ID=30658

[Sezu]

2. For all intents and purposes, Hezb IS the Lebanese gov't

since it has proved that the army will not act against it, it pushes UNIFIL around at will and now has veto power. Lebanese officials have said they will be the LAST to have peace with Israel. They have their divine victory and want more; right down to the last Lebanese. I wonder if Seniora will be crying his crocodile tears from the same hidey hole as Nasralluh next time.

[azurnoir]

4. right down to last Lebanese?

explain your comment-is that a threat or just "wishful thinking"?

[Name removed]

9. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[azurnoir]

12. In you own words,

A bit of "wishful thinking"

Like the little boy who cried wolf, Lebanon is not likely get such rapid sympathy the next time now that it is the tool and willing partner of Hezb.

As to your "personal" message to me, the ego and maturity level on your part speaks for itself

[Sezu]

14. Well it appears someone complained and had the message

deleted so I guess your fantasy stands. Nice.

[azurnoir]

15. LOL

go ahead repost if you want, your own words as I pointed out speak for them selves

[notfullofit]

6. Momentarily united

After Hizballah's Party

By ANDREW LEE BUTTERS / BEIRUT

There aren't a lot of opportunities to celebrate national unity in Lebanon, a famously fragile and fractious country. But the five Lebanese militants who arrived home Wednesday in an exchange of prisoners and dead soldiers with Israel returned to a country that seemed momentarily united in victory. The Lebanese government declared a national holiday, and almost the entire Lebanese Cabinet - politicians who are more often plotting one another's demise than appearing together in public - received the new national heroes at Beirut airport with flowers, rice, pomp and circumstance.

more
http://news.yahoo.com/s/time/20080718/wl_time/afterhizballahsparty;_ylt=AiBnnVWC.U7CTzsdHEEOggfagGIB

[azurnoir]

3. I am sure the Lebanese government knows

but I got "curious" so I Googled "Sheikh Naim Kassam" got the Haaretz story, several blogs, and other assorted publications; but also got at the top a slightly different spelling of the name "Sheikh Naim Kassem", so I went with that and got a jpost story on the same interview, apparently not sourced from IDF radio

Hizbullah's deputy secretary-general, Sheikh Naim Kassem, would not rule out on Saturday the abduction of more Israeli soldiers in order to achieve the organization's goals.

"I won't speak about this issue, because it has to do with military activity in the struggle with Israel and with the question of whether this confrontation will demand such an action," Kassem said in an interview to Qatari newspaper Al-Arab. "These are details which will become known in the future. We no longer have a 'prisoner file' but one cannot say what future developments will be."

Kassem added that Hizbullah was in a state of war with Israel, which he said was still occupying the Shaba Farms, the village of Ghajar and the Kfar Shuba hills. "Israel continues to infiltrate Lebanese airspace and thus poses a real threat," he said.

http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1215331021764&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull

This article names al-arab as the publication so went there and nada not a word about this interview, however it was the English language version so perhaps it ws simply not mentioned

http://english.alarabonline.org/

[bemildred]

5. "All options are on the table." nt

[azurnoir]

13. Sounds like a "buffet" best kept

under refrigeration as it could turn rancid rapidly.

[notfullofit]

7. After Hizballah's Party - Time Magazine

snip...

But not everyone agrees that Hizballah's gains were worth the price paid by Lebanon. A few anti-Hizballah media outlets pointed out that the true cost of the prisoner swap should include destruction wrought by the July war: 1,200 people killed, 400,000 wounded, 1 million displaced and $15 billion in economic damage. Yet, after more than 18 months of internal political stuggles that culminated in a brief armed takeover of Beirut by Hizballah last May, the group has for now effectively ended all debate over its continued bearing of arms. It has secured a veto power in the Cabinet and a sympathetic new President who just announced that, from now on, Hizballah would become part of Lebanon's national defense strategy.

That strategy could backfire. By embracing Hizballah's right to bear arms, the Lebanese government is now defying the U.N. resolutions that require its disarmament. And, as destructive as it was, Israel's bombardment of Lebanon in 2006 was largely limited to Hizballah strongholds in the capital and in the south. But in any future confrontation, Israel may use less restraint — and another war could be Lebanon's last.

Hizballah seems determined to resolve the rest of its outstanding disagreements with Israel — for example, Shebba Farms and other territory still occupied by Israel but claimed by Lebanon — in a manner similar to how it settled the prisoner issue: guerrilla operations, followed by indirect negotiations. But Israel is now unlikely to make the same kind of deal with a group that sees every negotiation as a step on the road to "liberating" Jerusalem. In that light, the prisoner exchange on July 16 isn't a promising first step toward ending hostilities between Israel and Lebanon, but instead the opening of an unstable new phase in the Arab-Israeli conflict, in which there is no system in place to prevent small outbursts from turning into big wars.

more
http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1824027,00.html?xid=feed-yahoo-full-world

[Sezu]

10. Like the little boy who cried wolf, Lebanon is not likely

get such rapid sympathy the next time now that it is the tool and willing partner of Hezb. And it would appear from Hezb's words and actions that they are ready to initiate a next time.

[azurnoir]

11. So you are willing to negate

what was actually said in the interview (just the facts) in favor of the media spin as to what might could happen?

[notfullofit]

8. the most profitable game in town

snip

"What we've done now has made kidnapping soldiers the most profitable game in town," Martin Sherman, an Israeli security expert, told the Associated Press on Wednesday. "There is absolutely no reason why Hezbollah should not invest huge resources now, along with Hamas, in the next kidnapping."
snip

"This is a very dangerous precedent," Yuval Steinitz, an Israeli parliamentarian from the Likud Party, told the AP. "We are telling them that they don't have to do their utmost to keep captive soldiers alive, to save them if captured."

http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/0,1518,566427,00.html

[Vegasaurus]

16. Kidnapping and terrorism

The national goals of Hezbollah and Hamas,

Imagine if they cared more about profiteering from learning, or development of a new product, or something other than terrorism.

What a disgusting life--Profitting from terrorism.