JERUSALEM – Syria and Hezbollah are likely to start a war with the Jewish state within 10 months, according to an assessment presented to the political leadership here by the Israeli Defense Forces. IDF leaders did not release the specific timing of what they said are expected clashes, but they urged Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's government in meetings the past few weeks to allow the IDF to prepare for a possible major conflict, according to senior military officials.
The officials said the assessments, compiled by the general staff of the IDF, are based on intelligence information and what they said is the ongoing estimate by Syria and Hezbollah that military confrontations achieve results.
They said Hezbollah considered itself victorious against Israeli troops in Lebanon in July and August. Explained a military official: "While Hezbollah took some major hits, the group's rocket infrastructure is still in tact; they are capable of firing more rockets into Israel. The war ended without Hezbollah having to return (Eldad) Regev and (Ehud) Goldwasser (the two soldiers it kidnapped in July, originally prompting the confrontations)."
The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, because he was not authorized to talk to the media, said a cease-fire imposed in August by the United Nations "achieved a political win for Hezbollah." "It recognized Hezbollah's claims to the Shebaa Farms (a small piece of territory held by Israel but claimed by Lebanon and Syria) and called for future negotiations. It also restricts Israel's ability to stop Hezbollah from rearming and regrouping, which is what they are currently doing," the military official said.
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