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Israel won't rule out Lebanon ground assault; Poll shows strong support for actions
Israel's army has refused to rule out a massive ground invasion of Lebanon as part of an offensive to force Hezbollah guerrillas to free two Israeli soldiers and stop firing rockets at the Jewish state."The army has many possibilities for action," Moshe Kaplinsky, Israel's deputy army chief, told Israel Radio when asked if the military would rule out a massive land incursion. "At this stage we do not think we have to activate massive ground forces into Lebanon but if we have to do this, we will. We are not ruling it out." His statement coincides with an opinion poll suggesting a huge majority of Israelis support the air offensive against Hezbollah. Israel has been massing troops, tanks and artillery pieces near its northern border with Lebanon. It has also called up thousands of reserve soldiers. Three Israeli tanks briefly crossed a few hundred metres into southern Lebanon on Monday afternoon, a UN source said, following a similar earlier incursion in which Israel said Hezbollah positions were destroyed. The Israeli bombardment has killed 215 people, all but 14 of them civilians, and inflicted the heaviest destruction in Lebanon for two decades, with attacks targeting ports, roads, bridges, factories and petrol stations. Hezbollah has attacked a naval vessel off Beirut and fired hundreds of rockets at northern Israel, killing 24 people, 12 of them civilians. Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said on Monday his country would pursue its offensive until the two soldiers were returned and the Lebanese army controlled all of south Lebanon. An Israeli Government source has said Israel may step up attacks in coming days, mindful that its chief ally, the United States, might not resist indefinitely international pressure for a cease-fire. Washington has backed Israel's right to self-defence. Poll A vast majority of Israelis support the country's offensive in Lebanon aimed at crippling Hezbollah and many also believe the militant group's leader should be assassinated, a poll has suggested. The survey in the mass circulation Yedioth Ahronoth daily showed 86 per cent of Israelis believed the army's attacks on Lebanon were justified. It said 8 per cent of Israelis believed the offensive should continue until the army killed Hezbollah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah. Only 17 per cent said Israel should stop fighting and start negotiations. The survey gave Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert high marks for his leadership, saying 78 per cent believed his handling of the crisis was good or very good. Even Defence Minister Amir Peretz, a former trade union chief with little government experience who had previously been under heavy criticism for his performance, was praised. Some 72 per cent said his handling of the campaign was good or very good. Posted by: Sholuth Flotch4186 2006-07-18 |
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