By Jerusalem Newswire Editorial Staff Jerusalem Newswire July 28th, 2004

JERUSALEM – The Hizballah terrorist organization has a huge arsenal of missiles capable of targeting Israeli population centers as far south as Tel Aviv, IDF intelligence chief Major-General Aharon Ze’evi told the cabinet Sunday.

Included in that arsenal are 13,000 short-range rockets, up to 500 missiles with a range of 45-75 kilometers, and, Israel believes, several dozen missiles with a range of up to 200 kilometers, Ze\u2019evi reported.

Ze\u2019evi added that Hizballah had recently participated in Syrian tests to fit some of these missiles with chemical warheads.

A respected Christian Zionist leader responded to these reports Tuesday by noting it was Israel\u2019s reckless retreat from southern Lebanon that had allowed Hizballah to set up a mini-state that now threatens the lives of millions of Jews.

Prime Minister Ariel Sharon\u2019s planned flight from Gaza would result in a Hamas mini-state posing a similar threat to Israel, warned Jan Willem van der Hoeven, director of the International Christian Zionist Center.

Northern menace

Hizballah\u2019s massive stockpile of short-range Katyusha rockets has long been known to, and used against Israel\u2019s Jewish citizens.

It\u2019s growing arsenal of medium-range missiles is known to include Iranian-made Fajar 3 and Fajar 5 rockets, as well as Syrian-made 200-millimeter rockets, Ze\u2019evi reported, indicating Damascus and Tehran are actively arming their terrorist proxy.

Of most concern, however, was intelligence suggesting Hizballah had taken part in recent Syrian tests to fit its medium-range missiles with chemical warheads.

Those rockets are capable of striking targets up to 75 kilometers away, putting the coastal city of Haifa well within range.

Adding to this threat, Israel believes Hizballah has acquired several dozen long-range missiles capable of striking the densely populated Greater Tel Aviv area, Ze\u2019evi told the cabinet.

Israel\u2019s folly

That Israel\u2019s major population centers are now threatened by a rogue Islamic terror group capable of launching a chemical missile barrage is the fault of Israel\u2019s short-sighted leadership, according to van der Hoeven.

By recklessly and unilaterally retreating from southern Lebanon in May 2000, \u201cIsrael was responsible for creating the Hizballah mini-terrorist state that today threatens\u201d the lives of millions of Israel\u2019s Jews, he wrote.

For the past four years, Hizballah has been allowed to increase its strength largely checked=”checked”=”checked=”checked”" by Israel and the West.

Periodic instance from Washington that Syria disarm Hizballah has been met with scorn and noncompliance. The US has to date failed to follow up on its demands.

Van der Hoeven warned that Sharon\u2019s plan to surrender the Gaza Strip to \u201cPalestinian\u201d control would result in the formation of a similarly checked=”checked”=”checked=”checked”" Hamas mini-state.

And once Gaza is flooded with the same missiles currently deployed in southern Lebanon, southern Israel will be under the same terrorist missile threat plaguing the north.

\u201cNevertheless,\u201d van der Hoeven prays, \u201cmay God’s wisdom prevail upon the beloved leaders of this nation at this very late moment!\u201d

Call to arms

That wisdom is starting to find a voice among Israel\u2019s military brass.

Last week, the IDF General Staff concluded that Hizballah, while building up and deploying its long-range strategic strike capability, was engaging in a campaign of sporadic low-level border skirmishes aimed at eroding Israel\u2019s air of deterrence.

That assessment came after Hizballah snipers shot dead two IDF soldiers working on an antenna along the northern border.

At present, Ze\u2019evi told the cabinet Sunday, Hizballah knows it has no justification for launching its missile arsenal against Israel.

But constant cross-border aggression may eventually elicit the kind of Israeli response that Hizballah could use as justification for a full missile barrage on the Jewish state.

And Israel is allowing the approximately 500 Hizballah operatives to carry out this scheme with near impunity, one military source was quoted as saying.

As such, the Middle East Newsline reported, the General Staff was seeking government approval for a large-scale incursion into southern Lebanon that would drive Hizballah and Iranian terrorists from the area and destroy their missile arsenal.

This entry was posted on Sunday, August 1st, 2004 and is filed under news.