ISRAELI GENERAL: WE CANNOT DEFEAT HEZBOLLAH

Israeli soldiers patrol on 9 October 2013 along the Israel-Syria border after mortar fire from inside war-torn Syria hit the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.(Photo: AFP ~ Jalaa Marey)

By: Yahya Dbouk

Alakhbar

October 10, 2013 

In a lecture at Bar-Ilan University in occupied Palestine, former head of Israel’s National Security Council Giora Eiland drew a grim picture of any future confrontation with Hezbollah, warning that the result will be much like 2006, if not worse.

He added that fighting a force like Hezbollah can be very difficult, due to the fact that real-time intelligence is next to impossible, given their constant movement, rendering information about targets useless if action is not taken immediately. The Israeli military strategist attributed this to the fact that the Lebanese Resistance has greatly improved its tactical fighting abilities, while the Israeli military has done little to change its overall approach to warfare.

“After the Yom Kippur [October 1973] war,” the former general explained, “most wars are waged between countries and organizations, and they are no longer comprehensive wars between nations,” thus requiring a break with the traditional way of engaging in military confrontations.

“In conventional warfare, the military commander would ask intelligence officers about the location of the enemy,” Eiland continued, “but in confrontations with non-state groups, as is the case in Lebanon, the commander asks who is the enemy, for this enemy does not behave like a regular military.”

He added that fighting a force like Hezbollah can be very difficult, due to the fact that real-time intelligence is next to impossible, given their constant movement, rendering information about targets useless if action is not taken immediately.

Eiland concluded, saying, “The number one lesson of the second Lebanese war is Israel’s inability to respond appropriately. We have to declare that all of Lebanon ~ from Hezbollah, to the government, to civilian citizens, to the Lebanese army ~ will be targeted.”

He stressed that Israel declaring its intent to target the whole of Lebanon, making it pay a heavy price if war does break out, will serve as a strong deterrent from our side, thus guaranteeing that the next war “will end after three days, and not 33,” as was the case with the July 2006 War.