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PrintIsraeli troops go on alert amid Lebanon’s political turmoil
JERUSALEM (JTA) -- Israeli troops on the border with Lebanon went on high alert following the collapse of Lebanon's government.
No additional reservists have been called up, however, according to reports.
Military officials reportedly are concerned that Hezbollah, whose exit from the government caused its collapse, would initiate a disturbance on its border with Israel in order to deflect attention from the political crisis.
The opposition Hezbollah party and its allies resigned Wednesday from the cabinet of Prime Minister Saad Hariri, bringing down the government on the same day that Hariri met with President Obama in Washington.
The resignation comes as a United Nations special tribunal is set to release a report that sheds light on the assassination of Hariri's father, Rafik, in 2005 when he was the country's prime minister. The report is expected to point the finger at senior Hezbollah members.
Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Raouf Sheibani said in a statement sent to media outlets Thursday that "sabotage and obstruction by America and the Zionist regime," referring to Israel, caused the collapse of the Lebanese government.
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