Schlaglicht Israel Nr. 15/10 Aktuelles aus israelischen Tageszeitungen 26. Juli – 08. August 2010 1. Zwischenfall an der Grenze zum Libanon Am 3. August kam es an der Grenze zwischen Israel und dem Libanon zu einem Gefecht zwischen israelischer und libanesischer Armee, bei dem ein israelischer Offizier, zwei libanesische Soldaten und ein libanesischer Journalist getötet wurden. Eine israelische Einheit hatte in Absprache mit UNIFIL, der UN-Friedenstruppe im Südlibanon, Bäume auf der anderen Seite des Grenzzauns beschnitten. Die libanesische Armee eröffnete daraufhin das Feuer. Nach Angaben eines UNIFIL-Sprechers befanden sich die Bäume jedoch auf israelischem Territorium, da der Zaun nicht überall dem tatsächlichen Verlauf der Grenze entspricht. Der israelische Verteidigungsminister Ehud Barak nannte den Vorfall eine„Provokation“. Der libanesische Informationsminister Tarek Mitri gab jedoch an, dass der Libanon den Grenzverlauf in diesem Gebiet nicht anerkenne. Der Zwischenfall war die schwerste Krise an der Nordgrenze Israels seit Ende des Libanonkrieges im Sommer 2006. Restraint is not weakness “The serious firefight that developed Tuesday between Israel and Lebanon is like a match that can ignite a blaze.[…] The government and the IDF have for several months been preparing the Israeli public for the possibility of a war in the north. They are aware of the tremendous political tension in Lebanon.[…] This awareness should have led the government and the IDF to consider more carefully when to cut down a tree near the border.[…] When such an operation can trigger a war, the benefits must be weighed against the risks.[…] Employing restraint and waiting at such a time are not an expression of weakness, but of wisdom and political sensitivity.” HAA 05.08.10 Editorial Israel’s eroded deterrence “Our enemies, which possess sensitive detectors, apparently sensed that things are changing.[…] Even the Lebanese army dares to provoke the IDF. […] We no longer scare our enemies.[…] They interpret Israel’s political and diplomatic weakness in the international arena as military and security weakness.[…] Deterrence needs to be maintained, boosted, and occasionally demonstrated.[…] Policy makers must be debating between a policy of containment and restraint, and a policy of boosted deterrence. This isn’t a crisis yet, and there’s time to plan, take wise decisions, facilitate the political and media infrastructure, and prepare public opinion in order to restore our deterrent power.” Shmuel Gordon, JED 04.08.10 Lebanese question mark “So why did the Lebanon border skirmish take place? To be honest, this very question is being asked not only in Israel. Many are asking it in Lebanon as well.[…] With the passage of time it appears that the accurate sniper fire directed at IDF forces was a local, well-organized initiative, rather than a mad outburst by a crazed soldier. Apparently, field commanders endorsed the attack.[…] The other important question is whether the incident was related to the immense pressure building up in Lebanon ahead of the international indictments over the assassination of late PM Hariri.[…] On the one hand, the incident is apparently unrelated. After all, Nasrallah and his people, who are facing the pressure, did not initiate the border skirmish.[…] Yet beyond all these questions, one question mark must concern everyone – the Lebanese army.[…] As it turns out, it is unclear to what extent this army adheres to orders from Beirut.” Roee Nahmias, JED 04.08.10 Attacked by Lebanon “It’s far from certain[…] that this was exclusively a local initiative. What is certain is that an ambush 1