Hezbollah behind Lebanon rocket strikes in north

Yossi Melman, Amos Harel and Avi Issacharoff, Haaretz Correspondents

Hezbollah is behind the two Katyusha rocket attacks that struck northern Israel in the last two weeks. In both cases, the organization used proxy Palestinian militant groups to launch the rockets from southern Lebanon. Security forces in the north are in a state of heightened alert, for fear that Hezbollah will fire more rockets into Israel or try to avenge the February 2008 assassination of Imad Mughniyeh, the organization's No. 2, in Damascus. Hezbollah has since tried to carry out at least five attacks against Israeli or Jewish targets in various countries.

The second Katyusha attack, which occurred last week, was aimed at the northern Galilee. The rockets landed in open territory, resulting in neither casualties nor property damage.

The organization that physically fired the rockets was the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine - General Command, founded by Ahmed Jibril, a former military officer in the Syrian Army and one of the PFLP's early leaders. Over the past few years, PFLP has become a close Hezbollah ally.

In coordinating the rocket strikes, Hezbollah went against several ministers in the Lebanese government who specifically asked the organization to refrain from perpetrating attacks on Israel, which risked igniting a conflagration of hostilities between Hezbollah and Israel.

Hezbollah plot to bomb Israeli mission reportedly foiled

The London Times revealed Friday that a Hezbollah plot to attack the Israeli embassy in Azerbaijan was foiled last year, after Azeri Intelligence discovered the plot.

Azeri intelligence authorities reportedly first caught wind of the plot weeks after Mughniyeh, Deputy Secretary General of the Lebanon-based guerilla group was killed by a car bomb in Damascus last February.

As the date of Mughniyah's assassination draws near there is growing concern that Hezbollah is planning further attacks on Israeli or Jewish targets abroad to retaliate his killing, the Times indicates. Hezbollah's 1800 Unit is said to be working on possible attacks inside Israel.

Hezbollah leader, Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah, said: "The Zionists will discover that the war they had in July was a walk in the park if we compare it to what we've prepared for every new aggression," says the Times.

The report also stated that the Egyptian intelligence broke up a Sinai-based Hezbollah cell headed by Sami Shehab, a Lebanese citizen. The cell, which also included Palestinians members had allegedly planned to attack Israeli targets.