JERUSALEM (JTA) — Hezbollah is now three times stronger than it was at the end of the Second Lebanon War, Ehud Barak said.
The Israeli defense minister told the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee Monday that Hezbollah’s 42,000 missiles can reach Ashkelon, Beersheba and Dimona.
He said Lebanon has been unable to stop Hezbollah.
"Hezbollah’s involvement in the state of Lebanon, this identity, exposes Lebanon and its infrastructures to deeper damage in case of a future conflict," he said.
Barak confirmed that Syria assists Hezbollah and is involved in Lebanon’s political processes. He told the committee that Israeli peace talks with Syria are positive and could help remove Syria from the center of the conflict.
