Hezbollah Is Present in the Galilee

by Dr. Abdul-Sattar Kassem

I wrote years ago that after the 2006 war, Hezbollah was focusing on acquiring air-defense weapons, and preparing to shift its war from a static war to a mobile one. I said that the party would prepare its forces to take control of a number of Zionist settlements in the Galilee, so as to be able to trade land and population and lift the siege on the Gaza Strip, and I added that the golden opportunity for the people of the West Bank and the Palestinian refugees lies in holding Jewish residents so as to corner Israel in a place from which it cannot escape. It was not surprising, after that, that Israel conducted military exercises rehearsing the expulsion of Hezbollah’s forces from the north of Palestine, and that it drew up plans to move the population of the northern settlements to safe locations in the center and south of Palestine.

What Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah recently said on Al-Mayadeen channel was not surprising to those who follow the affairs of the northern front. The party has come to possess all the weapons we expected it to acquire over the years. Of course we do not expect the party to possess nuclear weapons, though it may possess chemical weapons purely for deterrence, not for use. As for the party’s technical capabilities, they have developed considerably, and we will witness a fierce electronic war between it and the Zionists in any coming confrontation.

Rather, there is a rock layer covering a thin layer of limestone that can be dug through without the great noise that would let the enemy eavesdrop and hear the digging activity. The party also has sensors that guide it as to where to dig, away from the range of people’s own ground sensors above.

These forward positions are decisive and necessary, because they are locations deep inside Israel and close to Jewish population clusters, and they can move quickly within those clusters. These forward positions are capable of disrupting the Israeli army and heavily affecting its offensive capability, and will turn its attention toward the home front.

For this reason, Hezbollah’s coming tactics will rest on a number of things, namely:

Paralyzing the Israeli air force through anti-aircraft missiles and electronic aircraft that jam the air force:

Pounding Israel’s vital industrial, official, security, and military centers to create civil chaos inside Israel, stripping Israel of the ability to maintain balance, and causing disruption in its command-and-control and communications network:

Disrupting the civilian home front, in terms of people fleeing to shelters and part of the population falling into captivity or under control:

Striking the rear lines of the Israeli army and cutting supply lines:

Working to capture the largest possible number of Israeli soldiers, who could then easily be moved into the Lebanese interior through the tunnels.

Does Hezbollah have sufficient numbers of fighters to carry out these operations? Yes, it does — the party has managed to recruit large numbers of young men since the July 2006 war.

We must not imagine that the Israeli army is an easy morsel, simple to swallow. The Israeli army is strong, and Israel does not sleep at night; it prepares and readies itself, and it possesses astonishing means and equipment that will strike its enemies hard. In the end, the decisive factor is not weaponry alone, but skill in military tactics and the firmness of the soldier’s conviction. These are two things in which Hezbollah excels.

Source: Translated from the original Arabic, “حزب الله موجود في الجليل” by Dr. Abdul-Sattar Kassem.