Today, Hezbollah's deputy secretary-general, Sheikh Naim Qassem, said Hezbollah would avenge the 'assassination' of Imad Mughniyeh that the terrorist organization attributes to Israel (although there is substantial reason to suspect otherwise). In so doing, Hezbollah is making an 'in your face' threat against Israel that could be a harbinger of a new Arab-Israeli war which, in turn, could have catastrophic consequences for the entire world.
In recent weeks a war of words erupted between Israel and Lebanon. Although the source of tension was unclear, there were signs it had to do with intelligence Israel received regarding an imminent threat of some sort from Hezbollah:
The war of words between Israel and the Lebanese resistance movement Hizbullah has heated up in the last week, raising fears that another war between Lebanon and Israel is imminent. On Monday Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned the Lebanese government that it would be held responsible for any attacks on Israeli targets even if the attacks were carried out independently by the group.
“The government of Lebanon cannot just say ‘that’s Hizbullah,’ and hide behind them,” Netanyahu was reported in the Israeli daily Haaretz as saying. “The government of Lebanon is in power and responsible.” (The Daily Star, 8/13/09)
With regard to a threat from Hezbollah, Israel has been keeping a close eye on Latin America as the potential site for a terrorist attack purportedly to avenge the death of Imad Mugniyeh:
Threats have been volleyed back and forth between Hezbollah and Israel recently. Senior Israeli officials warned that if the organization makes an attempt to attack Israeli targets, the response will be unforgiving. Hezbollah responded in kind with a threat of its own that if Israel were to attack Lebanon, the Jewish State will pay a heavy price.
It has recently been made clear that Israel's public warnings on the issue stem from intelligence assessments that Hezbollah is investing significant efforts to carry out terrorist attacks against Israeli targets and Jewish institutions in Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay, and Peru in a bid to avenge the death of the organization's late leader Imad Mughniyeh, who was assassinated in Damascus more than a year ago.
According to the Israeli source, Hezbollah operatives in South America are collecting intelligence to this end. The Israeli intelligence community estimates that Hezbollah will try as much as possible not to leave identifying footprints that could associate the organization with the attack in the wake of such a strike in a bid to avoid Israel's heavy hand. In the same vein, it is estimated that the organization will not take public responsibility for a terrorist attack if it were to carry one out successfully.
This is also the reason the organization is purportedly looking to carry out an attack far away from Israel.
Egypt has recently exposed cluster of secret Hezbollah-related terrorist cells that planned on assassinated Israeli Ambassador to Egypt Shalom Cohen. Another cell that planned on targeting Israeli tourists was discovered in Jordan. On this backdrop, Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon warned that should Hezbollah attack Israeli targets anywhere around the globe, harsh retaliation will ensue.
During his visit to South America a few weeks ago, Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman handed over information to his Latin counterparts on Hezbollah's activities in the countries he visited. According to the Israeli source, the main objective is to signal to Hezbollah that Israel is aware of the organization's subversive activities in South America and is keeping close watch.
"We sought to deter them and to say to them that the Israeli response will be difficult to bear should they try to take action against Israelis anywhere," warned the source. (Ynet News, 8/13/09; Also see "Waiting For Orders", Ynet News, 8/14/09)
Thus, there is clearly something up between Israel and Hezbollah likely related to intelligence of an upcoming terrorist attack against Jewish interests in Latin America. Note that this has occurred twice before:
The two largest terrorist attacks in Latin American history were conducted by Hizballah against Jewish interests in Buenos Aires. Argentina's Israeli Embassy in Buenos Aires was the sight of the first explosion, a car bomb, on Mar. 17, 1992. The bomb killed 29 and injured over 250. On Jul. 18, 1994, the AMIA Jewish community center in Buenos Aires was bombed; 87 people were killed, and over 100 injured. While the two cases, which are thought to be related, have been officially under investigation for over thirteen years, little progress has been made, and the responsible parties have not yet been apprehended. (The Examiner, 8/14/09)
Should another such attack occur, it appears Israel will target not just Hezbollah, but Lebanon as a proxy state for the the terrorist organization....which, in turn, means Iran, since Tehran is the puppet-master behind the Shiite Moslem terrorist organization:
There is no better place to understand Iranian strategy than the Laleh Park in central Tehran, where young and old gather most afternoons to engage in an ancient form of combat.
Chess has helped sharpen the Persian mind for centuries and may explain how today’s regime is plotting its next move to become a superpower.
Some time over the coming two to three years, Iran will be able to build its first nuclear weapon, granting it membership of the world’s most elite club and putting it on par with Israel as the dominant forces in the Middle East.
If diplomatic efforts fail to halt Tehran, then there is only one last obstacle — the open threat by Israel to destroy Tehran’s nuclear sites before it can complete an atomic weapon.
Israel has the political will and the military muscle to execute an attack against Iran’s nuclear facilities. The range may be beyond anything attempted by the Israeli Air Force, but Iran’s conventional forces are outdated and defences weak. It is assumed that Arab states, whose airspace Israeli bombers and fighters would have to fly through to reach Iran, would secretly cooperate on a mission to blunt the Persian threat.
That is why Tehran is investing so heavily in its Lebanese proxy Hezbollah. The Shia Muslim militia has rebuilt and strengthened its arsenal since the bloody war it fought with the Israelis in 2006. It has amassed tens of thousands of rockets and missiles capable of bombarding half the country.
Israeli planners have no doubt that should they make the fateful decision to attack Iran, they will provoke massive retaliation on an unprecedented scale. The most densely populated areas of the country would come under Hezbollah range, including Tel Aviv, Haifa and Ben Gurion, Israel’s only international airport.
Israel may be able to take Iran’s queen. But in the process it could put itself into check. (UK Times, 8/5/09)
My 1991 vision of the Apocalypse started with seeing a special report of a chemical missile attack on Haifa, Israel.
Is this what is about to occur?
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