"Hezbollah is Lebanon's real army"

Haaretz, here

" Netanyahu addressed the security situation along Israel's border with Lebanon during a meeting of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee on Monday, saying "If in the past we viewed Lebanon as a secondary military power," Netanyahu said, "today Hezbollah is the real Lebanese army, and it has replaced the actual Lebanese army as a major force that is arming itself and training like any other army ...The Lebanese government and Hezbollah are becoming intertwined," he added. "They are the ones who would be held responsible for any attack on Israel."

In regard to Israel's indirect peace talks with Syria, which were suspended last winter after Israel's offensive in the Gaza Strip, Netanyahu told the committee that Israel was ready to resume negotiations immediately and without preconditions. However, he added that he had told French President Nicolas Sarkozy that he preferred that France mediate the talks rather than Turkey, which previously served as mediator...."

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