NETANYAHU PLAYS DOWN HEZBOLLAH MISSILE THREAT AFTER MONTH OF PROPAGANDA CAMPAIGN OVER ISSUE

Illustrative image

On December 6, Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu played down Hezbollah missile capabilities and claimed that the Lebanese group has only several dozens of precision-guided missiles.

“According to Hezbollah’s plans, they were already supposed to be equipped with thousands of missiles, but right now they only have a few dozens. The reason that they only have a few dozen is, among others, sitting here in this room,” Netanyahu said at an award ceremony for exceptional Mossad operatives, according to the Times of Israel.

Netanyahu went on to claim that the efforts of the Israeli military and intelligence prevented Hezbollah from accruing a higher number of precision-guided missiles.

“It is the combination of the Mossad, the IDF [Israeli Defense Forces], and our entire security system. We are depriving them of that weapon as well, not absolutely, but to a very impressive extent,” said the Israeli PM.

These remarks contradict with most of the previous statements on the issue released by top Israeli officials. The Israeli PM himself had participated in a propaganda campaign to show Hezbollah’s missile capabilities as the threat to the regional security for a long time. A part of this campaign was designed to justify Israeli actions in Syria.

Now Israel is apparently working to justify a military operation against Hezbollah positions inside Lebanon by promoting a new threat – “cross border tunnels.” In a clear sign of this new policy, Netanyahu said a day earlier that the Israeli military may have to operate in Lebanon in order to destroy the alleged tunnels of Hezbollah.

Facing these new threats, Hezbollah placed its fighters on a constant state of alert and surveillance. An official of the Lebanese group vowed that there will be a response to any attack from Israel, a policy that Hezbollah has been implementing since the 2006 war.

Comments

Why States Still Use Barrel Bombs

Smoke ascends after a Syrian military helicopter allegedly dropped a barrel bomb over the city of Daraya on Jan. 31.(FADI DIRANI/AFP/Getty Images) Summary Barrel bombs are not especially effective weapons. They are often poorly constructed; they fail to detonate more often than other devices constructed for a similar purpose; and their lack of precision means they can have a disproportionate effect on civilian populations. However, combatants continue to use barrel bombs in conflicts, including in recent and ongoing conflicts in Africa and the Middle East, and they are ideally suited to the requirements of resource-poor states. Analysis Barrel bombs are improvised devices that contain explosive filling and shrapnel packed into a container, often in a cylindrical shape such as a barrel. The devices continue to be dropped on towns all over Syria . Indeed, there have been several documented cases of their use in Iraq over the past months, and residents of the city of Mosul, which was re

Russia Looks East for New Oil Markets

Click to Enlarge In the final years of the Soviet Union, Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev began orienting his foreign policy toward Asia in response to a rising Japan. Putin has also piloted a much-touted pivot to Asia, coinciding with renewed U.S. interest in the area. A good expression of intent was Russia's hosting of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in 2012 in Vladivostok, near Russia's borders with China and North Korea. Although its efforts in Asia have been limited by more direct interests in Russia's periphery and in Europe, Moscow recently has been able to look more to the east. Part of this renewed interest involves finding new export markets for Russian hydrocarbons. Russia's economy relies on energy exports, particularly crude oil and natural gas exported via pipeline to the West. However, Western Europe is diversifying its energy sources as new supplies come online out of a desire to reduce its dependence on Russian energy supplies . This has

LONDON POLICE INDIRECTLY ENCOURAGE CRIMINALS TO ATTACK RUSSIAN DIPLOMATIC PROPERTY

ILLUSTRATIVE IMAGE A few days ago an unknown perpetrator trespassed on the territory of the Russian Trade Delegation in London, causing damage to the property and the vehicles belonging to the trade delegation , Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said during the September 12 press briefing. The diplomat revealed the response by the London police was discouraging. Police told that the case does not have any prospects and is likely to be closed. This was made despite the fact that the British law enforcement was provided with video surveillance tapes and detailed information shedding light on the incident. By this byehavior, British law inforcements indirectly encourage criminals to continue attacks on Russian diplomatic property in the UK. Zakharova’s statement on “Trespassing on the Russian Trade Mission premises in London” ( source ): During our briefings, we have repeatedly discussed compliance with the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, specif

Search This Blog