Israel will reserve the right to re-enter southern Lebanon if a proposed UN force is unable to stop Hizbullah fighters from returning to the border and resuming rocket attacks, a top military official said today.
"We cannot sit aside and allow something like that to happen again," Brigadier General Yossi Kuperwasser, until recently head of the army's intelligence research department, said.
Major powers are close to agreement on a UN resolution aimed at halting Israel's month-old war with Hizbullah guerrillas in Lebanon.
The latest compromise proposal calls for a phased withdrawal by Israeli troops as the Lebanese army deploys in the south, controlled by Hizbullah.
At the same time, the UN Interim Force in Lebanon, known as UNIFIL, would be reinforced by French and other troops, perhaps as many as 15,000.
As part of the deal, Hizbullah would pull out from south of the Litani River, 13 miles (20 km) from the Israeli border.
Asked if the proposed UN force would be able to push Hizbullah back and prevent rocket attacks on Israel, Brig Gen Kuperwasser said: "It's a real challenge."
He said Hizbullah had mobilised the equivalent of an infantry division, well-trained in guerrilla tactics and armed with state-of-the-art weapons.
Hizbullah's ability to inflict casualties on Israeli forces and keep up rocket strikes has won the admiration of many in the Arab world. Israeli officials say Hizbullah relies on using Lebanese civilians as human shields.
"If Hizbullah is going to redeploy in the south despite the presence of the international force or in spite of the presence of the Lebanese army, we can consider other ways of making the situation change," Brig Gen Kuperwasser said.
Asked if Israel could send its own troops back into southern Lebanon, he said: "That's one of the things that might happen if this force is not going to be effective ... This is a possibility."