Israel Threatens to Assassinate Hezbollah Leader Nasrallah

Israeli officer: No solution for Nasrallah, he must die

August 20, 2006

Ynet News

In New York Times interview, senior IDF officer says, 'there is only one solution for Nasrallah. This man must die.' Officer talks about war's achievements, says 'Lebanese government took control of southern Lebanon. Now we can deal with them as a country and a government. This is the huge change this operation created'

In an interview with the New York Times, a senior Israeli soldier said that though there is a ceasefire between Israel and Hizbullah , Israel intends to ensure that Hizbullah is not rearmed by Syria and to continue in her efforts to assassinate Hizbullah's leader, Hassan Nasrallah.

In Friday's interview, the soldier agreed to speak only on condition of anonymity. The international agreements on paper to remove Hizbullah from southern Lebanon and to strengthen the sovereign Lebanese army are weak and have already been proven to be empty.

He explicitly emphasized that Israel is committed to blocking any and all attempts at rearming Hizbullah. This came a day before the Israeli commando operation next to the town of Baalbek in southern Lebanon.

In addition, he noted that the US and Israel are united in their stance against Nasrallah, saying that his fate is definitive: "There is only one solution for him. This man must die."

Furthermore, he noted that both the United States and Israel view the Hizbullah as "Iran's western front." Israel, he said, will benefit from a strengthened sovereign Lebanon, a fact that is most readily expressed by the deployment of the Lebanese army up to Lebanon's southern border with Israel.

'Next round is coming'

Israel will also benefit from increased international support being shown after the threat of Hizbullah has been revealed to the international community. He said, “The world understands that we are helping to stop the influence of Iran,” at least in the longer term.

I don’t care about the capability of the Lebanese Army,” he said. “What is more important, and here I’m not speaking for the Israeli government, is the understanding that the Lebanese government took control of southern Lebanon. Now we can deal with them as a country and a government, and speak and compromise. This is the huge change this operation created.”

“But in the long run, if we see Hizbullah rearming itself and running southern Lebanon, I believe the next round is coming.”

After all, “this is the Middle East,” the officer said. “One war ends, and the next one is already at the door.”