From Arab media:
BEIRUT/BINT JBEIL: Hizbullah said Monday that thousands of its fighters - unarmed and out of uniform - held an exercise in South Lebanon over the weekend in response to major maneuvers conducted by the Israeli military across the border Israeli warplanes carried out intensive overflights along the coast from Naqoura to Zahrani. Last week the Lebanese Armed Forces fired anti-aircraft guns at Israeli jets that had intruded into Lebanese territory.
Two pro-opposition newspapers, Al-Akhbar and As-Safir, reported Monday that Hizbullah had staged one of its largest exercises ever south of the Litani River, the first since the end of the 2006 war with Israel.
"The resistance leadership was forced to take a different decision, unprecedented in Hizbullah's history," Al-Akhbar said.
The daily said Hizbullah's secretary general, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, personally directed the exercise, afterward congratulating the participants.
"I hope that both friend and foe will realize that the resistance is totally ready to confront all kinds of Israeli threats," he was quoted as saying.
As-Safir said the move came after Israeli maneuvers near the northern border with Lebanon and intensified Israeli flights over the South and Beirut. As-Safir also quoted Major General Claudio Graziano, the commander of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon, as warning Lebanese leaders in Beirut last week that tensions in the South and a deepening political crisis in the country might prompt European countries "to withdraw from UNIFIL within four months."
Italy, France, Spain and Germany form the bulk of the reinforced UN force that deployed in South Lebanon after last year's war. UNIFIL spokesperson Yasmina Bouziane denied the report quoting Graziano and stressed that the claims were "totally baseless."
"All of the 28 troop-contributing countries concerned remain resolved and committed more than ever to continue their contribution to UNIFIL's mission to help ensure security and stability," said Bouziane.
As for the Al-Akhbar report, she said it has been "denied by Lebanese authorities."
"The position of the Lebanese authorities is corroborated by reports of UNIFIL units on the ground," she said.
"The Lebanese Armed Forces have the primary responsibility for security in South Lebanon, including ensuring that the area between the Blue Line and the Litani River is free of any unauthorized armed personnel, assets and weapons. To that end, UNIFIL works closely in support of the [army]," she added.
Prime Minister Fouad Siniora also played down the reports, saying the exercises were only a "simulation on paper."
"What happened is nothing but an indoor simulation exercise that was never implemented on the ground," Siniora told reporters on Monday.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb
Apart from the 13,500 UN peacekeeping soldiers, the area south of the Litani is patrolled by 15,000 Lebanese troops, in accordance with UN Resolution 1701, which ended the hostilities in August 2006.
A senior Lebanese Army source told The Daily Star that there is no such thing as "unarmed" military maneuvers, but added that the Hizbullah drills, while officially unconfirmed, fall under the category of "movements of citizens around the South."
"It does not mean anything to us [the army] unless it [the drill] is armed and poses a threat to security," said the army source.
"Any activity or movement cannot be termed 'maneuvers,'" the army source said. "They may choose to call them maneuvers, but we don't."
A senior member of Hizbullah confirmed that the exercise took place, saying it was intended to counter Israeli activity.
"In response to what the enemy is doing, this maneuver by the Islamic resistance was part of its ... work and its commitment to always defend Lebanon, its sovereignty and its people," Sheikh Hassan Izzedine told New Television.
Although the reports of the exercise prompted fears of renewed conflict with Israel, political analysts dismissed the idea that another war is imminent.
"Hizbullah is sending a political message to Israel," former senior UNIFIL adviser Timur Goksel told The Daily Star in a telephone interview.
"It has always been Hizbullah's way to respond to Israel in kind," Goksel said.
Goksel said the message to Israel was simple: "If you can do these exercises, so can we."
He also said that by being unarmed and not in uniform during the exercise, Hizbullah did not "legally" violate 1701.
"But their maneuvers put the UN peacekeepers and the army in a difficult position," he said.
Goksel said renewed conflict was unlikely, adding: "Israel wasn't threatened by it, saw it as a political gimmick."
"Israel will monitor the situation from the sky," he added.
The Lebanese Army command has in the last few days, including Monday, issued statements noting increased Israeli overflights in South Lebanon in violation of Resolution 1701.
Last week, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon issued a report saying that Israel claims that Hizbullah has rearmed with new long-range rockets capable of hitting Tel Aviv. Ban's report said Israel also claims Hizbullah has tripled its C-802 shore-based anti-ship missiles and has established an air-defense unit armed with surface-to-air missiles. - With agencies and additional reporting by Mohammed Zaatari
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