The head of Hezbollah's Executive Council, Hisham Safi al-Din, on Monday referred to the recent maneuvers of the Radwan unit in the terrorist organization, and threatened Israel.
"Radwan" is considered an elite unit in the organization. A senior Hezbollah official stressed that Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah had said several times that any possible mistake as a result of Israel's miscalculation would lead to "missiles reaching Tel Aviv" and "the entry of the Radwan force into the Galilee."
Arab networks
During an interview with Iran's Tasnim News Agency, Safi al-Din said Hezbollah wanted to send "a clear message that everything we talked about, whether about the Radwan force and entering the Galilee, or about a serious and decisive confrontation, or about constant readiness at any moment, is a serious and practical message - and not a joke."
Smoke grenades against people who approached the fence on the northern border, Photo: AP
The comments come against the backdrop of clashes in the Har Dov area in the north. On Friday, residents of southern Lebanon clashed with IDF soldiers near the border over the construction of an obstacle there, which included a trench and barbed wire. Lebanese army soldiers were deployed in the area, and some even aimed weapons at Israel and IDF forces, including RPGs. However, it is unclear whether the launcher was loaded when the incident received close coverage by Lebanese media. Yesterday, an Al Manar correspondent reported that the IDF again fired smoke grenades at residents who had gathered in the area.
This is not the first time Safi al-Din has issued threats against Israel. A senior Hezbollah figure is considered one of the elements involved in the project of smuggling weapons from Iran to Lebanon via Syria. He even attended a showcase exercise in southern Lebanon, where Hezbollah practiced occupying Israeli settlements in the north. At the same time, he said: "The Israeli occupation will see the operation of precision missiles at the heart of its entity – if it commits an act of folly in order to deviate from the rules of the game."
After the military exercise, there was strong criticism of Hezbollah inside Lebanon. A series of parliamentarians condemned the showcase maneuver, referring to it as undermining state sovereignty and "taking the Lebanese hostage." Even the deputy speaker of parliament, Abdullah Bou Saab, complained at the time that if the organization had consulted with him, he would have recommended an exercise without weapons.
Meanwhile, ahead of another session of the Lebanese parliament on Wednesday to vote on the next president, political circles in the country estimated that none of the candidates would again be elected. This time, Suleiman Frangieh from the Hezbollah camp is running for the job, against Jihad Az'our from the anti-Hezbollah camp.
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