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Israel Threatens War with Lebanon - by Stephen Lendman
Palestine is belligerently occupied. Threats continue against Iran and Syria as well as Lebanon, specifically Hezbollah, elected partner in the nation's unity government, bogusly designated a US State Department Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO), what Israel also calls it, repeating veiled and overt warnings, suggesting violence or an impending attack.
Why not, after so many earlier in 1978, 1982, 1993, 1996, and 2006. Also numerous incidents besides:
-- refusing to comply with UN Security Council Resolution 425 by occupying South Lebanon belligerently and illegally for 18 years until mostly, but not entirely, withdrawing in May 2000 - still holding Sheba Farms, the 14-square mile water-rich land near Syria's Golan, also illegally occupied since 1967; in addition, Ghajar, the Lebanese village bordering Golan;
-- during its occupation, using a proxy Christian South Lebanon Army as enforcer, UNIFIL Blue Helmets giving them and the IDF free reign instead of maintaining peace, how UN forces always operate, as paramilitaries against people they're supposed to protect; and
-- for over 40 years, repeatedly violating Lebanon's territory, often daily, including 12 Israeli jet overflights on August 19.
Hezbollah - Israel's Pretext for Incursions, Violence and War
Hezbollah was born out of Israel's 1982 Lebanon invasion, its horrific war slaughtering around 18,000 people, mostly civilians, including in the Sabra and Shatila camps, what journalist Robert Fisk called "one of the most shocking war crimes of the 20th century."
In 1999, it was put on the FTO list, removed after condemning the 9/11 attack, then added back by Dick Cheney after bogusly linking it with Al Qaeda.
Throughout his tenure, George Bush (and other administration officials) called Hezbollah, Iran and Syria "the root cause" of Middle East terrorism, despite Israel being the only threat, a notorious regional menace.
In mid-July 2010, Rep. Sue Myrick (R. NC) was over the top accusing the organization of being a threat on the US-Mexican border, saying:
"Our intelligence sources have really clarified that they are in Mexico, that there is an operation that is quite large in place there, and it's very frightening to me because this is national security. We know some of them have gotten across the border in the past....They are starting to target the United States and that's my concern."
She also linked Hezbollah with Mexican drug cartels, DEA assistant intelligence administrator Anthony Placido saying "There are numerous reports of cocaine proceeds entering the coffers of Islamic radical groups such as Hezbollah and Hamas" - reports as credible as Saddam's WMDs.
Hezbollah, in fact, is politically legitimate, former Lebanon President Emile Lahood calling it "an integral part of the Lebanese government....(also) part of our military (and) social order," what former Prime Minister Rafik Harriri confirmed. It's also a social, charitable, educational, and medical organization, involved in establishing over 50 hospitals, over 100 schools, many libraries, and providing other essential social services, why it has broad support, especially among Shiites, comprising over 35% of Lebanon's population.
In addition, its military wing is for defense, not belligerency, but it's prepared to respond effectively when attacked, what Israel learned painfully in the 2006 war, outfoxed and humiliated despite a vastly superior force. It's a lesson the IDF never forgot and wants to avenge, as well as conceal its own terrorist history, by far the region's most extensive with tentacles reaching globally.
An early 2007 American University of Beirut study documented 6,672 Israeli terrorist acts against Lebanon and Palestine alone from 1967 - 2007 (plus thousands more since then), unrewarded by inclusion on America's FTO list, Israeli influence getting others on it, including Hezbollah and Hamas, Palestine's legitimate government.
