Israel cancels patrols on Golan, Lebanese borders due to security fears

Israeli army yesterday cancelled patrols along the Golan Heights and Lebanese borders, Israeli news website Wallah reported.

According to Arab48.com, Wallah reported that this measure came after senior army members warned their units about security concerns following the assassination of senior Hezbollah leader Samir Kuntar.

Haaretz’s military analyst Amos Harel said the targeting of Kuntar is a message to Iran, not Hezbollah, and the response is expected from Iran.

“This stage is connected to Iran,” Harel said, “Hezbollah has ignored several rounds of tension with Israel, considering them offshoots to what is happening in Syria… Even when Israel assassinated Jihad Moghniyeh and his companions, Hezbollah only targeted the borders and killed two Israeli soldiers.”

Harel said often Israel did not claim responsibility for the attacks against Hezbollah targets, but recently Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that Israel had undermined several weapons smuggling attempts to Hezbollah.