Stand for Israel

A Lebanese soldier opened fire on IDF troops across the border on Monday, prompting Israel to issue a strong warning against such provocations which, if not contained, could lead the two countries to war. Israel sent a letter of complaint to the U.N. stating that such actions could destabilize the region. This was the second cross-border shooting from Lebanon over the past two weeks. Thankfully, no one was injured in either incident.

In the summer of 2007, Israel fought a month-long war against Hezbollah in southern Lebanon. The war was instigated by a cross-border kidnapping, carried out by Hezbollah, of three Israeli soldiers. When the war ended with a cease-fire, there was a public outcry to bring the kidnapped soldiers back home. Not knowing if the soldiers were dead or alive at the time, the Israeli government agreed to release terrorists with blood on their hands in return for the kidnapped soldiers, whose corpses were returned in boxes.

Since the end of the war, the U.N.-brokered ceasefire agreement has routinely been breached by Hezbollah, in plain view of the UNIFIL forces who are stationed in Lebanon. Hezbollah continues to expand its deadly cache of weapons in blatant violation of  Security Council resolution 1701 that called for the group’s disarmament. Most of the weapons originate in Iran and are smuggled into Lebanon via Syria. Israel has repeatedly protested Hezbollah’s weapon smuggling in the U.N. to no avail, and has warned that Hezbollah is stockpiling weapons as a prelude to a future conflict.

Israel is urging the Lebanese army to investigate the cross-border shootings and to put an end to these incidences. If the shooter had been successful in killing or injuring Israeli troops, the IDF might be well into Lebanese territory by this time.