Israeli intel: Hezbollah stronger than before war

Israeli intel: Hezbollah stronger than before war
'We assume they now have about 20,000 rockets of all ranges'

TEL AVIV — Senior Israeli intelligence officials admitted to the London Sunday Times this week that Hizbullah is now stronger than it was before the Israel-Hizbullah war this past summer.

"Since the cease-fire, additional rockets, weapons and military equipment have reached Hizbullah," an Israeli intelligence officer told the Sunday Times. "We assume they now have about 20,000 rockets of all ranges – a bit more than they had before July 12."

The Lebanese government recently acknowledged that weapons continue to make their way from Syria into Lebanon despite UN Resolution 1701, which placed an embargo on arms-smuggling.

In an interview on Hizbullah television, Hizbullah leader Hassan Nasrallah said it's been proven that resistance can defeat Israel.

"The strategy of the resistance is a correct strategy. The resistance could stand up against the strongest army in the Middle East."

In the same interview, Nasrallah claimed that his organization had more than 30,000 rockets that could serve Hizbullah for five months of fighting.

The situation in Lebanon is disturbing enough to Yair Shamir, son of former prime minister Yitzhak Shamir and currently chairman of Israel Aircraft Industries, that he gave a rare interview this week in which he lambasted the Olmert government's handling of security matters.

Shamir told The Jewish Press it's clear that Israel is again turning a blind eye to Hizbullah's arms buildup.

Shamir also slammed the government for assuming an apologetic attitude toward the shelling of Beth Hanoun where innocent children and adults were killed and injured.

Shamir said that while he takes no "joy seeing young innocent children being killed," the Palestinians need to understand that "if they know of terrorists who have prepared to fire rockets at Israel from their houses or in their yards or in close proximity to their houses, they should run for their lives and not remain there. Enough with the apologies."

The Israeli government, he added, "is not managing to get this message across loud and clear. Therefore, when Palestinians shoot rockets at us it's normal and when we retaliate it's a tragedy."

Shamir told The Jewish Press he was present at the economic forum last week where Prime Minister Olmert called on Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to sit down with him to talk peace, promising Abbas that he "would be surprised how much I am prepared to concede."

"I heard him say it with my own ears," said Shamir. "This is in no way how you negotiate. I don't believe anything will come of such remarks."