Israeli Military Action in Lebanon | The American Task Force on Palestine

The Lessons of the Second Lebanon War
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Wall Street Journal
by Michael B. Oren - (Opinion) August 11, 2011 - 11:00pm

South of Lebanon's Litani River, many villages lay in ruin. Others were deserted, their inhabitants having fled northward to Beirut. Across the border, Israeli civilians emerged from shelters to find their neighborhoods ravaged by thousands of Katyusha rockets. The surrounding forests were scorched. Israeli troops deployed throughout southern Lebanon, poised to deal a decisive blow to Hezbollah, but they did not. At that moment, 8 a.m. on Aug. 14, 2006—five years ago this weekend—the guns of the Second Lebanon War fell silent.

Lebanese, Israeli soldiers exchange fire over border
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua
July 31, 2011 - 11:00pm

BEIRUT/JERUSALEM, Aug. 1 (Xinhua) -- The Lebanese Army opened fire at a group of Israeli soldiers that crossed the border Blue Line into Lebanon in the Wazzani area early Monday, a security source told Xinhua. The source said the six Israeli soldiers, who had crossed into Lebanon, fired at the Lebanese army post in response. No casualties were reported. The Lebanese military sent reinforcement to the Wazzani area soon after the incident and the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) circulated extensive patrols, said the source.

'Balance of terror' sustains tense calm between Hezbollah and Israel
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor
by Nicholas Blanford and Joshua Mitnick - July 11, 2011 - 11:00pm

As Lebanon’s militant Shiite group Hezbollah and the Israeli army prepare to mark the fifth anniversary of the 2006 war on Tuesday, the tense calm along the traditionally volatile Lebanon-Israel border is being tested by recent regional developments. Still, analysts say, the calm should hold for now. The durability of the “balance of terror” that has helped deter another conflict is rooted in the reluctance of Hezbollah and Israel to embark upon another conflict that both appreciate will be of a far greater magnitude than that of 2006.

Amir Peretz makes bid for Labor chairmanship
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Attila Somfalvi - April 11, 2011 - 11:00pm

Former Labor Party Chairman Amir Peretz announced that he intends to seek a second term as party chairman. Peretz, who lead Labor in 2006, called a press conference Tuesday and announced his plans. "It saddens me to see society today. Many of the important things have been eroded. I plan on submitting an extensive plan, a social Iron Dome, to protect three major things: society, democracy and peace.

Israel can't defeat Hezbollah - Israeli expert
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters
by Dan Williams - December 16, 2010 - 12:00am

Israel cannot defeat Hezbollah in a direct engagement and the Lebanese guerrilla group would inflict heavy damage on the Israeli home front if war broke out, a former Israeli national security adviser said on Thursday. Though outnumbered and outgunned, Hezbollah held off Israel's advanced armed forces in a 2006 war and fired more than 4,000 rockets into Israeli territory. The group has a domestic political base and has since bolstered an arsenal that Israel describes as a strategic threat.

Israel digging its own grave
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Arab News
by Linda Heard - (Opinion) November 9, 2010 - 12:00am

Israelis exist in a state of low-key fear of obliteration that has become absorbed into their psyche. They’re so used to it that it has become part of who they are. The Jewish state may call itself a democracy but in fact it’s a militarized entity always alert to criticism and attacks from its foes within and without.

Why Palestinian refugees in Lebanon support violence rather than peace talks
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor
by Nicholas Blanford - (Analysis) September 26, 2010 - 11:00pm

Ain al-Hilweh refugee camp, Lebanon — Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations hung in the balance Monday as Israel ignored international pressure to extend a 10-month freeze on Israeli settlement construction in the West Bank. Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, under pressure from the United States to stick with the talks, is expected to consult with his partners in the 22-member Arab League next week before announcing a decision. But Mr. Abbas said Sunday, hours before the freeze expired, that Israel had only one choice: "either peace or settlements.”

Is Hezbollah right that Israel assassinated Lebanon's Rafik Hariri?
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor
by Nicholas Blanford - August 10, 2010 - 11:00pm

On Monday night, the leader of Hezbollah showed intercepted Israeli reconnaissance footage and confessions of Israeli spies to back his accusation that Israel was responsible for the assassination of former Lebanese prime minister Rafik Hariri – an explosive murder under investigation by an international tribunal.

'Barak wanted to avenge border incident, attack Lebanon'
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Roee Nahmias - August 10, 2010 - 11:00pm

France dissuaded Israel from opening a large-scale military operation against Lebanon in response to the border incident which killed Ltc. Dov Harari, the London-based al-Sharq al-Awsat newspaper reported Wednesday. French sources told the paper that Defense Minister Ehud Barak had informed French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner that "Israel intends on opening a large-scale military operation to educate the Lebanese Army and avenge the death of the senior Israeli officer."