The latest events in our neighborhood have an almost surrealistic aura about them. I mentioned previously that Nasrallah and Hizbullah in Lebanon were making threats. I also beleive taht when Nasrallah threatens something. he intends to make it happen. Well, maybe not this time. According to a report that surfaced in the London Times there was a strange attack on a Hizbullah owned building in Beirut. Lebanese reports said it was a “communications center”. Maybe it was. But no objective (read Western) journalist seems to be able to get close to the site. The building that ws once there is now a mass of rubble. The reports said there was a drone that came flying down the street. It was said to have been carrying a camera, and hovered briefly in front of the building before flying off. A short while after that another drone came down the street. It flew into the building and exploded. For all the near total destruction that was wrought, there were no reported deaths. It now appears that the building was a manufacturing installation where Hizbullah was upgrading some of the large stockpile of missiles that it has. They were using, so it was reported, special components manufactured in Iran to improve the range and accuracy of their weapons. Now there is nothing left of them. Quite a story, isn’t it? The kind of thing that is often attributed to the Israeli security services. The same kind of story that is often accompanied by a statement like “You can’t make this stuff up.”.
Well, I wasn’t actually there, and from what i believe about the tale it looks like a “message” to Nasrallah that when the Israelis warn him not to get too bold, they mean it.
Then there is the event on the Southern border. Someone, or rather two someones, decided to blow themselves up at a Hamas police station. Three members of the Hamas “police” were killed. In this case Israel made an exception to it’s normal no comment rule. There was an absolute denial that Israel had anything to do with the incident. Speculation has it that the suicide bombing was the work of a Salafist cell with ties to the now defunct(?) Islamic State. Whoever did it is not what I think is important. I look on this as an indication that the general dissatisfaction of the Gaza population with Hamas rule has found a new expression in the form of a violent reaction. I’m very glad I don’t live there.
Finally there was an example of the failure of a United Nations sponsored peace group to carry out a part of the functions it should be expected to perform. A UNIFIL (United Nations Interim Forces In Lebanon) patrol in 2 vehicles tried to pay a visit to a Lebanese village with an encampment located inside. Local Lebanese halted the patrol, dragged some of the UN soldiers out and beat them, physically. The soldiers, in this case Serbians, ppear to have escaped with nothing more than bruises, both physical and psychological. UNIFIL was established to “help” the Lebanese Army control the area and prevent arms from being smuggled in from outside. This incident is just one more in a long list that shows what a total failure the organization is. Their rules of engagement do not allow the UN soldiers to use their own weapons even when faced with a potential life-threatening situation. That may have the call of the UN commander on the scene, but it does nothing to detract from the overall impression that this particular UN military presence is not accomplishing the mission for which it was sent.
Wetherhorn 