In a briefing to the Knesset's Defense and Foreign Affairs Committee Tuesday, Yossi Baidatz, head of research at Military Intelligence, updated government officials on the strength of Israel's foes. According to the brigadier-general, Iran's
current regime is not in danger of collapsing and may go nuclear by the end of 2009, Syria is upsizing its weapons arsenal and Hizbullah
is getting stronger.
On the Lebanese front, Baidatz said: "Hizbuallah is learning how to live with UNIFL, and they are getting stronger. They carried out a training exercise to convey two messages: one, that they are unfazed by Israeli military maneuvers and, two, as an internal message to showcase Hizbullah's strength in Lebanon."
In Damascus, Syria continues to strengthen its military capabilities by acquiring Russian-made anti-tank weapons and anti-aircraft systems, according to the intelligence chief. In addition, the Bashar Assad regime continues to transfer weapons from Iran to Hizbullah in Lebanon.
Defense Minister Ehud Barak also weighed in on the discussion and said that a wide-scale military operation in Gaza is looming overhead.
"We have the ability to act. The considerations have not yet formed the basis for a major campaign in
Gaza, but every day that passes brings us close to one—including the necessity to deal with the tunnels and the smuggling. I believe that if the flow of weapons and the (rocket and mortar) shootings continue, sooner or later, we will be forced to initiate a broad offensive in the Strip."
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