A Hizbullah combat unit infiltrated into Israel on Wednesday afternoon. A gun-battle ensued when an Israeli army unit spotted the force. Immediately thereafter, Hizbullah began shooting rockets at Israeli outposts in the Mount Dov (Shib’a farms) area on the Israel-Lebanon border.
One Israeli soldier was killed by a rocket, and three others were injured. Israel retaliated with an artillery bombardment of Hizbullah posts in order to enable a safe evacuation of the injured troops. Israel also sent aircraft to attack four Hizbullah posts on the Lebanese side of the border.
Following these events, Israel has issued a formal complaint to U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan. In it, Israel said the Lebanese government is to blame for the escalation.
Hizbullah is trying to signal to the new Lebanese government – which is to be established in the near future – that as long as Israel stays in the Mount Dov region, the organization will continue its attacks. Hizbullah claims that the Mount Dov region is occupied Lebanese territory, from which Israel has to withdraw.
Hizbullah is presently in a delicate situation. On the one hand the organization, with its ally Amal, had won 35 out of 128 seats in the new parliament. But on the other hand, now that the new government is free of Syrian pressure, it may try implementing U.N. Resolution 1559, which calls to disarm all Lebanese militias.
It is not yet clear what Lebanon’s government will do in this regard, but Hizbullah’s General Secretary Hasan Na’srallah has already indicated he will not allow any forceful disarming. He did however hint that he might be willing to hold secret negotiations for a peaceful disarming.