One of Israel’s worst security nightmares is playing out with word that Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad is gifting the Lebanon-based Shiite Hizbullah terrorist organization with Russian-made T-72 and T-55 tanks. The promise of 75 tanks comes in the wake of an announcement by Hizbullah that it has completed its mission of providing combat support for Assad’s forces fighting rebels. The stated intent of the weapons is to aid Hizbullah in its own fight against Sunni Al-Qa’ida fighters according to the Kuwaiti newspaper Al Rai which broke the story. Reports from the region indicate that the Russian military build-up in Syria is continuing at a rapid pace with as many as 15 Russian cargo planes loaded with weapons and military equipment seen landing at the new Russian base near Latakia during the past two weeks. In an interview aired on Hizbullah’s television network Al Manar, the group’s chief, Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah, lauded the growing Russian force admonishing that its presence “will drive away the great dangers threatening Syria and the whole region.” Nasrallah made reference to the specifics of the Russian armament landing in Syria, calling it “very advanced” and listing fighter jets, missiles, rocket launchers and heavy equipment. He also raised the possibility of Russian ground troops operating in Syria. The 800-pound elephant in the room was Israel, whose occasional fighter jet sorties into Syria to take out missiles and prevent arms shipments to Hizbullah just became more complex with the addition of Russian troops defending Syrian assets. On Saturday, the US admitted that Syrian rebels it trained at great expense handed over arms and equipment to Al-Qa’ida.