Spotlight: Will Israel Wage War on Lebanon Amid Recent Regional Tension?

• Spotlight: Will Israel Wage War on Lebanon Amid Recent Regional Tension?
  by http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/newchina/index.htm
  BEIRUT, Feb. 19 (Xinhua) — Lebanese political analysts are divided on the possibility of Israel waging a war against Lebanon after the recent discovery of tunnels extending from Lebanon to northern Israel and the formation of a new government in Lebanon.
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  Hilal Khashan, chair of the Political Studies Department at the American University of Beirut, believes Israel is unlikely to attack Hezbollah in Lebanon for the moment.”The Americans did not give Israel the green light to attack Lebanon,” Khashan told Xinhua. A few days ago, the U.S. government voiced its concerns about Hezbollah’s participation in the new cabinet in Lebanon.
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  A U.S. official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to Lebanese daily newspaper Al Joumhouria, said the United States is worried about the role of Hezbollah in the new cabinet, especially the fact that the group dominates the Health Ministry which has the country’s biggest budget.
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  However, according to Khashan, Hezbollah did not appoint the health minister in order to avoid the negative repercussions of such a move from the West.Hezbollah will also try its best to maintain the conflicts with Israel within the Syrian territory, Khashan noted. “I do not think Hezbollah will attack Israel from Lebanon. This will be a major escalation that Lebanese people cannot tolerate,” he said.
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  In fact, the Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah declared recently that his group will not start a war with Israel, but will defend itself with all its power if Israel attacks Lebanon first.Nevertheless, Khashan did not completely rule out the possibility of an Israeli war against Lebanon.
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  On Dec. 4, the Israeli army launched the Northern Shield operation to “locate and thwart” the tunnels allegedly dug by Hezbollah from Lebanon to northern Israel.Since then, the Israelis have been talking frequently about Hezbollah’s threats against Israeli sovereignty and Iran’s control of Lebanese policies, as Iran has been a long-time ally of Hezbollah.
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  Israel’s statements concerning Hezbollah have become so “tough” that no one can predict what the Israelis want to do, Khashan said.The Israelis are no longer trying to cover up their attacks on Hezbollah and Iranian targets in Syria, signalling no fear of escalation in the region, he added.
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  If the Iranians publicly oppose the Israeli statements and threaten the Israelis, “things can get out of control,” Khashan said, adding that Israel may be waiting for Iran to make such a move as an excuse to go for a war in Syria and Lebanon.
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