Olmert: Operation was neccessary

The Prime Minister's Office said Saturday afternoon that the commando operation in Wadi village near Baalbek was necessary and not against the ceasefire: "We needed to carry out this operation, and it's good that we did so." Sources in the office also said, "The operation was necessary because Hizbullah is violating the ceasefire by smuggling Syrian and Iranian arms, which is against the agreement." In the operation, an IDF officer was killed and another two officers were injured, one critically, the other lightly. The Prime Minister's Office responded to claims made by Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora that Israel's actions represent a breach of the ceasefire: "This does not mean that there isn't a ceasefire. Hizbullah cannot complain if we are preventing them from smuggling arms, against the terms of the ceasefire agreement. Hizbullah is not upholding the conditions of the ceasefire. This week, a number of incidents occurred in which Hizbullah terrorists shot at IDF soldiers. The operation Friday night was meant to prevent the smuggling of arms from Syria. We are permitted to act upon this when the Lebanese are not doing so." It was reported to Ynet from the Prime Minister's Office that "the operation was successful. If we hadn't done it, Hizbullah would have done this again and then what would happen? We needed to perform this operation and it is good that we did so." On the other hand, Meretz Chairman Yossi Beilin charged the minister of defense to clarify what was the intent of the operation initiated by the IDF in Lebanon, and whether or not Israel's intention is to violate the ceasefire. "If senior ministers in the cabinet think that the correct thing to do is to leave southern Lebanon, it is important that they don't hide behind anonymous calls to do so and that they fight for their position in the cabinet. This is to ensure that Israel will not pay another unnecessary toll after the heavy price it paid in the last month." IDF: The objective was to prevent arms smuggling The IDF said that the objective of the operation was to prevent the smuggling of arms from Iran and Syria to Hizbullah. According to military sources, "the objectives were achieved in full." The IDF explained, "This was an operation that is not contradictory to the ceasefire agreement. The military said that it will reserve the right to prevent arms smuggling to Hizbullah." According to reports in Lebanon, two IDF helicopters unloaded two Hummers, which drove to the village of Bodai, 15 kilometers west of Baalbek. According to the report, IAF aircraft provided cover for the force, and even attacked a Hizbullah command post in the area. Following the confrontation between the IDF and Hizbullah, the helicopters returned to the site to pick up the two vehicles. Defense sources in Lebanon said to AP, "A commando force tried to attack a local school in which Hizbullah terrorists were hiding." Al-Jazeera reported that a power station in the area was attacked before the operation. Atilla Somfalvi contributed to this report

Olmert: Operation was neccessary

Sources in Prime Minister's Office Saturday afternoon back up commando operation in Baalbek, in which officer killed, saying, 'Operation was necessary because Hizbullah is violating ceasefire by smuggling Syrian and Iranian arms'