Hezballah rebuilds for next war

Telegraph:

Hizbollah has stepped up the rebuilding of its military infrastructure in southern Lebanon despite the deployment in recent weeks of thousands of Lebanese troops and international peacekeepers to limit the Islamic militant group's activities.

Standing firm against international pressure to disarm, the Shia group is rearming and rebuilding tunnels and trenches destroyed by the Israeli army during this summer's 34-day war.

Locals in Bint Jbeil, a town which saw fierce fighting, told yesterday how Hizbollah was using the major reconstruction efforts to rebuild their security infrastructure.

"They are working extremely fast," said one, who did not want to be named. "Militants in Shia strongholds have interconnected tunnels and bunkers under their houses. These are being rebuilt under cover of the reconstruction work."

He said cables and telecommunications equipment had been installed and the number of trucks delivering aid and supplies made it easy to disguise weapons smuggling.

"They have a security network of hundreds of motorcycles, linked up by walkie-talkies. Wherever outsiders move in the south they are followed. You don't see guns, but Hizbollah knows exactly where you are." On the crater-lined streets of Bint Jbeil, there was evidence of substantial reconstruction and young men on motorcycles, but it was impossible to discern whether any were Hizbollah fighters.

...

In Bint Jbeil, the overwhelming feeling among the locals was that Hizbollah should keep its weapons.

"Still the Israelis come over the border, with their drones and jets" said one woman. "Only Hizbollah keeps us safe. If they leave the area, we will leave too."

The Bint Jbeil locals have it just backwards. If Hezballah left, Israel would have no need to send its places to check on what is happening in the area. This report suggest that Hezballah has no interest in a long term peace and that the UN is totally ineffective in stopping their rebuilding of the infrastructure for war and terror.