International Christian Embassy Jerusalem, 21 Jul 2008

Following the prisoner exchange between Israel and Hizbullah last week, the head of the IDF's intelligence branch Amos Yadlin told the cabinet on Sunday that Hizbullah is anxious to stage a terror attack along the Lebanese border to show its fight against Israel has not ended.

The Lebanon-based terrorist group views certain matters as being unfinished, primarily the disputed territories of Shaba Farms, the divided village of Ghajar and Israel Air Force flights over Lebanon, and may use these issues as an excuse to carry out a future assault, Yadlin assessed. The intelligence chief added that Israel’s enemies are continuing to build-up military force out of apprehension that regional tensions will escalate this summer.

Meanwhile, Syria is still under pressure in the international arena due to its continued military support of Hizbullah, said Yadlin, despite the impression that it is a period of renewed ties between Damascus and the West.

Following the prisoner exchange last Wednesday in which Hizbullah returned the bodies of IDF soldiers Regev and Goldwasser in exchange for child-killer Samir Kuntar and four other Lebanese terrorists, Hizbullah leader Hassan Nasrallah declared that his group would now try to free Lebanese land still occupied by Israel. Appearing next to Kuntar at a rally on the day of the prisoner exchange, Nasrallah insisted, "Our worry now is to free the rest of our lands."

Hizbullah deputy Naim Kassam added that Hizbullah would attempt to kidnap more Israeli soldiers, Army Radio reported on Saturday.

Hizbullah also deployed anti-aircraft missiles in the mountains in central Lebanon in order to threaten and disrupt Israel Air Force flights over Lebanese airspace, reported a Kuwaiti newspaper last week. The Shi'ite terror militia may use IAF over flights of Lebanon as a new pretext to attack Israel, in addition to the struggle over Shaba Farms.

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