Hezbollah operative firing rockets
Photo: AP
Hezbollah 'on high alert' against IDF
Lebanese group says info published on its Al-Khiam stronghold suggests Israel 'preparing something'
Hezbollah responded for the first time Saturday to information revealed by
Israel on its stronghold in the southern Lebanese village of Al-Khiam.
Sources from the organization told the London-based Al-Sharq Al-Awsat that the Israeli reports were a "fabrication" and that the state seemed to be laying the groundwork for some kind of move against Hezbollah.
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"They are preparing something for us, but we are on a high level of alert," one source told the paper, adding that a Security Council condemnation of the group's recent violence against the UN force in southern Lebanon proved the international community was also involved.
"We want to stay as far as possible from an exchange of verbal blows because we want the Lebanese people to have a peaceful summer, despite Israel's attempts to carry out what it tried to do in 2006 – an exaggeration of a show of defense," the paper quoted.
The sources also condemned France for calling the Security Council meeting on the attacks against UNIFIL forces, which are believed to have been carried out by Hezbollah agents.
"The actions of the French UNIFIL force, just like France's new policy, prove that the country has gone back to implementing imperialistic policies against the Arab homeland," one source said.
France called for the special council meeting following incidents on June 29th and July 3rd and July 4th in which angry villagers blocked roads to prevent peacekeepers from performing a military drill. Some threw stones, injuring at least three peacekeepers.
The force commander, Maj. Gen. Alberto Asarta Cuevas, sent an open letter to the communities in the south late Thursday urging villagers to discuss their grievances directly with the UN peacekeepers. He assured them the force has no "hidden agenda."
A press statement read after the meeting strongly deplored the incidents and called on all parties to ensure the freedom of movement of the UN force, which has about 12,100 military personnel from 30 countries.
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