IDF says army leveling 1km of territory inside south Lebanon

[ECH1969]

A senior Israel Defense Forces officer told the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee on Monday that IDF troops had leveled land inside Lebanese territory extending up to one kilometer from Israel's northern frontier.

The objective is to prevent the reestablishment of Hezbollah guerilla posts along Israel's border.

Earlier Monday, Defense Minister Amir Peretz said that Israel intends to create an unmanned buffer zone in south Lebanon, from where Hezbollah has been pounding Israel with rockets for the past six days.

IDF Chief of Staff Dan Halutz told the committee that Hezbollah leader Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah has been in an underground bunker since the start of Israeli air strikes targeting the group's stronghold in Beirut.

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/739402.html

[JackNewtown]

1. How big will this unmanned buffer zone be?

If Hezbollah doesn't need disarm Israel needs a buffer zone but it can't be a ridiculous size. The IDF is talking about LEVELING entire areas. Lebanon is a small nation and the destruction of a significant portion of its land will cripple it and the fragile, pro-US, democratic government of Lebanon.

[DELUSIONAL]

2. How many people really understand what this means?

And when will this not be enough -- so the boarders will be pushed again and again -- to match the mystical boarders in the minds of ???

Oh . . . since there was no mention of compensation -- I guess all landowners are *(*& out of luck.

There is a pattern -- take the land -- don't compensate -- drive the owners of the land off and then call them terrorists.

At the moment I really don't know what anyone means by terrorists.

What if other counties followed this rule? They can't get along with their neighbors -- so they just take the land and then clear it. But then they see all that land -- and why not put a few "settlements" on that land -- and grow crops in the desert?

I wonder where the wells are -- does this area that Israel is now laying claim to contain water?? Water will soon be more precious than oil -- and in some regions it is already more precious than oil.

If I were younger and had not seen this pattern repeated time and again I might pity the poor victimized Israelis . . . . but I've learned that violence creates more violence. There are two sides to this story . . . and the only people who seem joyous are the rapture right and the neocons.

[IndianaGreen]

6. Israel is setting up a North Korean style "no man's land"

on Lebanese soil (How white of them!).

[bennywhale]

7. i wonder if this buffer will be suitable for building

Israeli towns on

[IndianaGreen]

9. I wonder if our brave Democratic Senators will endorse this crap

as they are planning to do with the bombing of Beirut:

Senators initiate resolution supporting Israel, condemning Hezbollah

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x2396286

[wakeme2008]

3. how about a buffer zone on the Israel side of the border assholes. nt

[Name removed]

8. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[mom cat]

11. You beat me to it! ... I was just thinking that.

[Dead_Parrot]

4. Same ol', same ol'... sigh. n/t

[MrPrax]

5. Perhaps a Wall? n/t

[IndianaGreen]

10. Israelis are good at building walls on land that does not belong to them

then they are surprised when the local population lobs rockets at them. "Why do they hate us," Israelis asked just as their friends across the Atlantic do.

[leesa]

12. Israel is just beyond belief arrogant. Chalk up another war crime for

Israel. Oh I forgot, Israel WANTED southern Lebanon, therefore it's justifiably theirs.

[snooper2]

13. Hezbollah has been "pounding" Israel with rockets...

yep, looks like that to me... :eyes:

[daleo]

14. What's the point of one km anyway?

Hezollah's missiles are supposed to have a range of 20 km, perhaps as much as 50. I don't see what good one km of a buffer zone would actually do. I suppose they would just kill anyone inside it, and that might forestall the kind of border attack that resulted in the deaths and captures last week.