Barak Warns Israel Unprepared for Hezbollah Threat

The threat to Israel from Hezbollah should not be underestimated, Former Prime Minister Ehud Barak stated Monday night, referring to IDF estimates that the Lebanon-based terror group is holding more than 100,000 rockets in civilian areas.

 

Barak, who gave a speech at Tel Aviv University marking the 30th anniversary of the IDF deployment in southern Lebanon, said that Israel has “never had to cope with 100 thousand rockets and we have not even begun to deal with their accuracy.” Accurate rockets, he said, “are not more of the same thing, they are something completely different.”

 

Fifteen years ago, while serving as prime minister, Barak ordered the withdrawal from southern Lebanon.

 

“Part of our culture is found not only in the minds of commanders, but the political tradition of Israel,” said Barak, a former defense minister and chief of staff, according to Walla! News. “If you’ve already been forced to take something, think twice before you leave it,” he said, referring to the security belt Israel held in southern Lebanon from 1985 to 2000.

 

“At no point were we going to plant a tree there (i.e. settle there permanently),” Barak added. “We had to keep asking: what purpose does this serve?”

 

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