Lebanese army in 'full readiness' to face the 'Israeli enemy'

The Lebanese army has been warned to be in a state of "full readiness" to deal with the "Israeli enemy" as tensions in the region mount.

Lebanese paramilitary group Hezbollah were recently condemned by the Arab League, as an Iran-backed ‘terrorist organisation’.

Threats against Israel by their northern neighbours have followed with the Lebanese foreign minister insisting his nation would be “sure to win” any conflict.

Now the commander of Lebanon’s army said his people will cooperate with United Nations (UN) resolutions maintaining peace in the region, but will be braced against “Israeli enemy threats and violations” directed against “Lebanon and its people and its army”.

Army Commander, General Joseph Aoun, made the provocative proclamation from the Twitter account of the Lebanese Army.

His belligerent stance follows an interview with Lebanese Foreign Minister Gebran Bassil on RT TV in which the politician urged Israel not to launch an attack – because they would lose.

Speaking to Russian state funded broadcaster, RT, he said: “We should not be provoking Israel into a war simply because it is likely to lose it.”

His comments came as the Jerusalem Post reported that Israeli troops have been conducting manoeuvres in the north of the country close to the border with Syria.

Israeli Defense Forces invaded Lebanon in 2006 and were locked in conflict with Hezbollah for 34 days, until the fighting was ended with a UN-brokered ceasefire.

Tensions have mounted once more after the Arab League met over the weekend and branded Hezbollah – which is heavily involved in Lebanese politics – a terrorist group.

This declaration has been rejected by the Hezbollah leadership.

Members of the League, most prominently Saudi Arabia, surprisingly aligned themselves with Israel in condemning Hezbollah and their Iranian backers.

Iran has long been a regional rival to the Sunni Saudi kingdom.