Just days after Lebanon celebrated the 17th anniversary of its Resistance and Liberation Day, when southern Lebanon was freed from Israeli occupation thanks to the efforts of Lebanese resistance movement Hezbollah, the Israeli army announced the creation of a new training facility — a mock Lebanese village — in case of war with the Shia resistance group.
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The Snir facility, being built in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, will have multiple entry points, a mock Hezbollah command and control headquarters, residential buildings, mosques, and public buildings, Press TV reported.
“(Snir) is a Lebanese village, showing the Lebanese challenge, which is growing greater; showing the Lebanese enemy (Hezbollah), which is developing. In the village, there are people acting as enemy fighters, who are very close to the types of threats that we expect from Hezbollah in the next round,” Brigadier General Einav Shalev, commander of the Army’s Ground Forces Division said.
“We’re studying (Hezbollah’s tactics) closely. We’re preparing troops to dress like Hezbollah, to act like Hezbollah, to think like Hezbollah,” he added.
The army plans to finish the construction of the center, being built by German construction engineering company M+W Group, by the end of next year, with three similar facilities in the coming years.
“We have nothing like this in the state of Israel,” the senior Israeli Defense Forces, IDF, officer said, adding that the center will become its most advanced urban combat training center.
Back in February, Israeli Intelligence Minister Yisrael Katz threatened Lebanon by saying the entire country would be a target if Hezbollah fired on the occupied territories.
Lebanese President Michel Aoun responded by saying that any Israeli attempt to violate Lebanon’s sovereignty would be met with the “appropriate response,” Press TV reported.
Naim Qassem, Hezbollah’s deputy leader, also stated in defiance last month that the resistance movement’s high level of defense readiness has thus far deterred Israel from launching a new act of aggression against the country. He warned that any such war between the two would end in a “guaranteed loss” for the Israeli regime.