Neither Hezbollah nor Israel will go to war right now. Israel cannot defeat Hezbollah now any more than it could in the war n 2006, which ended in a military stalemate but a strategic victory for Hezbollah.

Hezbollah won’t go to war against Israel because it cannot afford to lose its already questionable prestige in Lebanon due to the terrorist party’s having entered the conflagration in Syria and bringing it inside Lebanon’s borders.

Hezbollah’s attack in Israel yesterday was an eye-for-an-eye retaliation for Israel’s pre-emptive bombing raid in Syria two weeks ago in which a dozen Hezbollah and Iranian Revolutionary Guard soldiers and commanders were wiped out.

Their plan to attack the Israeli side of the Golan Heights bore out fears that Hezbollah wants to be able to strike Israel along the entire northern border, from the Mediterranean Coast of Lebanon to the eastern side of the Golan Heights.

“Hezbollah” does not just mean the terrorist party and army. It also means “Iran,” its financial and military mother.

“Hezbollah” also means “Lebanon,” to a large extent. Hassan Nasrallah’s party dominates the government, but the world recognizes “Lebanon” and not “Hezbollah.”

Hezbollah, diplomatically, is a state within a state. It has one of the largest military arsenals of any army in the world, with 120,000 missiles in Lebanon, and now in Syria, poised to pulverize not only northern Israel but also Tel Aviv and Jerusalem.

It is an act of war when a country’s army attacks another nation and kills two soldiers. “Restraint” is not the proper response. The proper response is an all-out retaliation to end the enemy threat.

But officially, neither Lebanon nor Iran attacked Israel yesterday. The provocateur was a terrorist army and party. Israel cannot wipe out the Hezbollah army because, like Hamas and other terrorist groups in Gaza, it operates from within civilian population centers and now also is located in the maze of hell that is called Syria,” which no longer exists as a nation except in name.

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said yesterday, “My recommendation to those who challenge us in the north is to take a look at what happened in Gaza.”

Bull Stuff.

Hamas had several thousand rockets, some of them sophisticated, but Israel’s Iron Dome system was able to intercept most of them. In addition, the land mass of  Hamas-controlled Gaza is all of 139 square miles (360  square kilometers), surrounded by the Mediterranean Sea on the west and an unfriendly Egypt and Israel on the south, west and north.

Lebanon is nearly 30 times larger with 4,015 square miles (10,400 sq km). Besides the Mediterranean Sea on the west and Israel on the south, Lebanon — and Hezbollah — have Syria for a neighbor in the east and north.

Netanyahu said, “The (Israel Defense Forces) is responding now to the incident in the north. The IDF stands ready to act forcefully on all fronts.” In truth, he was only reassuring Israelis and sending shivers down the spines of the West, but he and Hezbollah know very well that Israel is not going to  “act forcefully on all fronts.”

Israel does not have an anti-missile system that can protect the country against 120,000 missiles, some of them very long-range rocket and probably with chemical warheads. The IDF indeed could crush Lebanon. It could punish the country for allowing and actively supporting Hezbollah.

Before doing so, who knows how much Hezbollah would cripple Israel with missiles.

But everyone, especially Netanyahu, knows that any large-military operation would leave Israel isolated in the world

The United States stated yesterday its  usual wishy-washy position that backs Israel with a big “but”:

We support Israel’s legitimate right to self-defense and continue to urge all parties to respect the Blue Line between Israel and Lebanon. We urge all parties to refrain from any action that could escalate the situation.

That was the same language used every time Hamas attacks Israel with a missile.

Any Israeli attack would be “disproportionate.” The international community does not apply the rules  of war when it comes to Israel, which always must show it is so Christian that it can turn the other cheek and not use force.

As  disgusting it sounds, the bitter truth is that Israeli won’t go to war over the deaths of two soldiers. It should but it won’t.

Israeli does not have the self-confidence, spiritually and diplomatically, to attack Hezbollah and Lebanon.

Nine years ago, Hezbollah kidnapped and murdered two soldiers and sparked a five-week war that proved that exposed, once again, Israel’s real weakness.

The Foreign Minister at the time was Tzipi Livni, who now threatens to become the next Prime Minister of Israel on a rotational basis with Labor party chairman Yitzchak Herzog.

Livni signed on the dotted line of United Nations Resolution 1701 that was a cease-fire version of the Oslo Accords. Instead of the Palestinian Authority, it was the United Nations that promised to disarm “foreign armies,” without naming Hezbollah.

The resolution stated:

Pursuant to the Lebanese cabinet decision of July 27, 2006, there will be no weapons or authority in Lebanon other than that of the Lebanese state.

The resolution called for:

 Israel to withdraw all of its forces from Lebanon in parallel with Lebanese and UNIFIL soldiers deploying throughout the South…

Disarmament of all armed groups in Lebanon (implying but not stating Hezbollah)

No armed forces other than UNIFIL and Lebanese (implying Hezbollah and Israeli forces) will be south of the Litani River

No foreign forces in Lebanon without the consent of its government….

The importance of full control of Lebanon by the government of Lebanon .

Of course, Israel withdrew. Not only did UNIFIL not dis-arm Hezbollah, UNIFIL allowed it to continue to smuggle weapons from Iran, via Syria.

The resolution left Hezbollah ins a stronger than ever position and weakened Israel, which proved again its military may be strong but its backbone Is too weak to support a military victory to safeguard the country.

Below is a video of how Hezbollah terrorists escapes an Israel Air Force bombing of a missile launcher in the war in Lebanon in 2006.

The GOC Northern Command on Wednesday evening declared Israel’s northern border in the Golan Heights along the boundary with Syria to be a closed military zone.

The area affected stretches from Kibbutz Dafna in the Upper Galilee to the Druze town of Mas’ade in the northern Golan Heights. Included in the region are Kibbutz Dan, the border village of Ghajar, the Banias, Fort Nimrod, Neve Ativ, Majdal Shams and Mount Hermon.

The military announcement comes after the Iranian-backed Hezbollah terror organization launched the most serious attack on northern Israel seen since the start of the Syrian civil war.

Two IDF soldiers were killed and six others were wounded, including two with serious injuries, in an afternoon-long battle between the IDF and Hezbollah guerrillas operating in southern Lebanon. In addition, a Spanish peacekeeper serving in the UNIFIL force since November 2014 was killed during the exchange of gunfire.

The IDF has confirmed that Hezbollah fired six Kornet anti-tank missiles at a convoy traveling in northern Israel, and not two as originally reported. Three hit the convoy; one hit a house in the Druze village of Ghajar, setting it afire.

The convoy was comprised of two IDF vehicles leading two civilian vehicles on a road returning from the area of Mount Dov. It appears that the goal of the attack – as in the 2006 cross-border raid that launched the Second Lebanon War – was to spark a military provocation that would be a distraction while Hezbollah terrorists abducted one or more IDF soldiers or Israeli civilians. Hezbollah also reportedly simultaneously directed a round of mortar shells at the area near Metullah and around Mount Hermon.

Because civilians were involved in the attack – as well as the two IDF vehicles that were incinerated when they were struck and the soldiers who were killed – the incident is being considered in a far more serious light.

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu convened the Security Cabinet to discuss the ramifications of the attack and to decide how Israel should respond.

UNIFIL is meanwhile attempting to negotiate a resumption of the ceasefire that was arranged between the two sides to end the Second Lebanon War, and which was violated today (Jan. 28.)

An Israeli artillery field encampment on high alert after they responded to several rockets hitting the Mount Hermon Resort, in the Golan Heights, northern Israel, January 27, 2105

Three Israeli air strikes late Tuesday night on Syrian army bases in Quneitra, Damascus and surrounds were a warning to Beirut, Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon said early Wednesday.

The attacks came in response to a double rocket attack on the Israeli Golan Heights fired by Lebanese Hezbollah terrorists from Syrian territory on Tuesday afternoon. One of the rockets, which were later identified as M307s, landed in the Herman region. The other exploded in El Ram.

The IDF responded immediately with artillery fire directed at the source of the rocket launches and reported that it had destroyed both. IDF Spokesperson Peter Lerner informed media in a text message that the Syrian missile fire had indeed been “intentional” and “not spillover from the Syrian civil war” as has been claimed in past incidents.

“The air force strike tonight on territory controlled by [President Bashar] al-Assad in Syria against targets of his regime is a clear message that we will not allow any fire on the territory of Israel and breach of its sovereignty, and that we will respond with force and firmness,” Ya’alon said.

“As the Assad regime is responsible for the fire from its territory on Israel, we will know how to collect a heavy price from any regime or organization from whose territory our sovereignty is breached and fire of this or another type is conducted on Israel.

“We don’t intend to just move on and be tolerant towards terrorist activities and attempts to harm our citizens and soldiers,” Ya’alon continued. “We act with restraint and firmness, with responsibility and consideration to preserve the security of citizens of Israel against countries and terrorist sources whose goal is to disrupt our lives.”

Shortly after midnight, Israeli residents of the Golan Heights awakened to the sound of the Code Red incoming rocket alert siren again, just 12 hours after the first attack earlier in the day. No rocket landings were identified, however, and officials later concluded that perhaps the siren had activated in response to the nearby IAF air strikes instead.

US State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki told reporters at a briefing that Washington had seen the news of Tuesday’s attack on Israel and did not want “an escalation of the situation.” “We support Israel’s legitimate right to self-defense and have been clear about our concerns over the regional instability caused by the crisis in Syria,” she told reporters.

“We call upon all parties to avoid any action that would jeopardize the long-held ceasefire between Israel and Syria and abide by the 1974 disengagement of forces agreement,” she added.

The escalation in the region follows the death of six Hezbollah terrorists – including three top commanders – and six Iranian Revolutionary Guards – including Brigadier General Mohammad Ali Allahdadi – in an air strike on a convoy traveling through Quneitra province in Syria a week ago Sunday. The attack has been attributed to Israel although there has been no confirmation by the IDF.

Following the attack, the Islamic Republic of Iran sent a message to the United States “through diplomatic channels,” warning that Israel should suffer the consequences of its “wrongful act of aggression.”

But despite avowals of taking revenge against the Jewish State, Iran’s proxy in the region, Hezbollah, has made it clear through various means that the terror group does not seek another full-scale war.

Since the 2006 Second Lebanon War, Hezbollah secretary-general Hassan Nasrallah has lived underground in permanent hiding, speaking to his followers solely through video hookups, out of fear he will be assassinated by Israel.

The two rockets fired from Syria that exploded in Israel’s Golan Heights at 1 PM today signifies a new peak in tensions being felt in Israel’s northern borders. Whether tensions on Israel’s northern front continue to flare or dwindle down remains to be seen.

Tensions began to flare on January 18, after the bombing of a Hezbollah convoy on Syrian territory. Twelve people were killed in the attack; all of them Iranian and Hezbollah soldiers. The bombing was widely attributed to Israel.

Since the convoy bombing, high levels of tension have been felt all along Israel’s northern borders. The main concern is a Hezbollah retaliation that could drag Israel into an unwanted military campaign.

In a couple of incidents during the last nine days, the IDF detected suspicious movements on the Lebanese-Israeli border. The immediate suspicion was that Hezbollah terrorists were trying to infiltrate Israel. Precaution measures were taken as roads were blocked and civilians were ordered to remain at home in the Upper Galilee region.

Tamir Duadi, a volunteer at Kibbutz Manara’s Emergency Squad, spoke to Tazpit News Agency about one of those incidents. “We were on lockdown for about 90 minutes. It is not a common event but we do get high threat levels from time to time. Since the bombing of the Hezbollah convoy, IDF forces are much more present in our region,” Duadi told Tazpit News Agency.

Dr. Ely Karmon, an expert on terror and Hezbollah from the International Institute for Counter-Terrorism at the Interdisciplinary Center in Herzliya, told Tazpit News Agency that he doesn’t think a war between Hezbollah and Israel is likely to erupt. “Hezbollah can’t handle a Syrian front and an Israeli front. Hezbollah has already lost more than 1,000 combatants in Lebanon; a second front will weaken their organization substantially.”

According to Dr. Yehuda Blanga, an expert on Middle-East politics from Bar-Ilan University, “respect and prestige will probably compel Hezbollah to retaliate against the alleged Israeli convoy bombing, though, retaliation will be specific and well measured, because Hezbollah does not want a war with Israel.” He told Tazpit News Agency.

The two rockets which were fired today compelled an Israeli retaliation. Artillery shells were fired into Syrian territory. In addition, roads were blocked by the IDF, and Israeli civilians were instructed to remain in proximity to protected spaces.

A security source told Tazpit News Agency that “Israel has no desire in a violent escalation. We hope our retaliation to the two rockets exploding in the Golan Heights will suffice. We are now waiting to see what will be the response on the Syrian side of the fence.”

After a day in which a double rocket attack sent security and military officials to evacuate nearly a thousand people, visitors are being invited to return to the Mount Hermon Ski Resort site.

The decision came in the wake of a security assessment by the IDF and managers of the ski resort. The site was closed for most of the day Tuesday after Code Red rocket alert sirens sounded throughout the Israeli side of the Golan Heights.

Both rockets fired from Syria landed in open areas, reportedly causing no property damage and no injury to civilians. The IDF returned artillery fire to the source of the attack and said it identified “a direct hit.”

A senior Israeli security source told reporters that the Iranian-backed Lebanese Hezbollah terror organization was behind the attack.

Hezbollah has been fighting alongside Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s forces against rebel factions in the ongoing civil war taking place in the north.

Israel’s Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said Tuesday that “Israel regards with severity the attack today from Syrian territory.

“Those who play with fire get burned,” he warned.

The IDF has extended duty for Reservist units in the north as part of its maximum later presence in the wake of Hezbollah threats to retaliate against Israel for last week’s aerial strike that killed a dozen Hezbollah and Iranian Revolutionary Guards soldiers and commanders..

The high tension that is gripping the north was illustrated on Sunday by an IDF order that temporarily closed roads because of a “possible security incident.”

The defense establishment is jumpy, to say the least. It is not taking any chances with the lives of Israelis, even if it means lots of false alarms and extending reserve duty for soldiers who are bored stiff by the lack of action, which is exactly why the IDF has deployed them. A bored soldier is a lot better than his absence, which is a sign for the enemy to attack.

One important deterrent to Hezbollah retaliation is increasing anger against Hezbollah among  Lebanese politicians. The Lebanese army has tightened its security along the eastern border with Syria following attacks on Friday by radical Islamists who killed eight Lebanese soldiers and wounded 22.

The spillover into Lebanon  form the war of what remains of Syria is hurting Lebanon economically.

The U.S. Department of State issued a new travel warning advisory to Lebanon and cited reports of a possible suicide attack at a casino and hotel.

“The development serves as an important reminder of the ongoing security concerns in Lebanon – even in areas which are normally considered less dangerous,” the advisory stated.

It urged U.S. citizens not to travel to Lebanon due to “safety and security concerns.”