Khaberni - An Israeli security source told i24news that the Israeli military does not expect the Lebanese army to dismantle Hezbollah's weapons by the end of the year as promised.
The source said that one year after the ceasefire with Hezbollah, the group's capabilities have significantly decreased in all areas. The source praised the work of the American monitoring mechanism and saw that the Lebanese army is doing things that were not possible before, which is a good development. "The Lebanese army is entering new places, collecting weapons, and rocket launch pads. This is very important," he added. However, the source noted that the situation of the Lebanese army is complicated due to its sectarian composition and the presence of Shia elements within it that deal with Hezbollah, which is one of the reasons the Lebanese army does not effectively prevent Hezbollah activities.
Since the ceasefire, the source continued, the army has killed more than 370 Hezbollah members and destroyed much of the infrastructure. "Every time we sense an attempt by the group to rebuild its capabilities, we will strike," the source indicated that Israel sees intense efforts by Hezbollah to rebuild its capabilities with Iranian funding.
The source declined to respond to whether a military confrontation between Israel and Hezbollah is imminent.
The source praised that unlike UN Resolution 1701, Israel this time maintains its freedom of movement "and we protect Israeli settlements from 5 locations deep inside Lebanese territory."
Regarding Syria, the source reported that Israel is working on establishing a barrier aimed at preventing infiltration into Israel and that protection of Israeli settlements will occur "from the front lines deep inside Syrian territory, just as is the case in southern Lebanon." The source also said that the situation in Syria differs from that in Lebanon as there are many groups active in Syria, which increases instability.
