Israeli Spies’ Defeat Is a Victory for Lebanon

23 March 2011 | 07:37 Code : 10771 Middle East.

By Mohammad Irani, former Iranian ambassador to Lebanon

IRD: In 1389, new conflicts between the Lebanese army and the resistance flowed on the one hand and from Israeli provocations on the other hand. In fact, both sides entered a new phase in the history of the fight. Tracking and discovering major Israeli spy networks in Lebanon was a unique development that took place in collaboration with the resistance security sector and the Lebanese army. Identifying more than 22 Israeli spy networks and arresting more than a hundred spies after the collapse of these networks, in a relatively short period, were very important security accomplishments for the Lebanese. These measures consisted of three parts:

1. Discovering a network of military officers and Lebanese police forces spying for Israel beginning many years ago. The officers, some of whom were tried and sentenced to death, were accused of calling and meeting with concerned Israeli parties, sending information about people, equipment and military sites, centers of resistance forces and their traffic, and spying during the 33-day war in 2006.

The most important of these people was Faez Karam, a retired general, who had a relationship with Israel for 23 years and previously was the head of the Lebanese army’s anti-espionage division. This spy network has been involved in the assassination of some of the Lebanese and Palestinian resistance commanders. It is noteworthy that a number of ordinary citizens, especially in southern areas of the country, had been arrested and prosecuted for these crimes.

2. The identification, arrest and collapse of the telephone communications network began with the arrest of one of the leading technical engineers in the alpha satellite network in September, and his colleagues in the Department of Telecommunications were identified.

The members of the espionage network were charged with contacting concerned Israeli parties and receiving technical equipment from them, installing them in the domestic and international telephone system of Lebanon, through which the Mossad organization could almost eavesdrop on all the phone calls and telecommunications of the whole country. The head of this network was Charbel Qazzi, cooperating with Israel for 14 years.

3. Installation of advanced technical equipment for tracking and surveillance of the people; initially the two systems were identified by Hezbollah forces adjacent to the Majdal Salm village located near the southern border on December 4 last year, but were remotely exploded and two citizens were injured.

The next point is the importance of the equipment in terms of the extent and volume of coverage; they have been installed at a 1715-meter altitude overlooking the East Beirut area, but the installation date and time was not released. The spying station was discovered on the 15^th of December, and includes two separate systems: one at the Zanin highland and another in Albarook.

Through a statement, the Lebanese army stated that the equipment was discovered by Hizbullah and neutralized by the army. The advanced system consists of five divisions of taking pictures (cameras), sending images and videos, receiving radio waves, and managing control and battery charging, covering most of areas from Bigha to the Syrian border and to the borders of occupied Palestine from the south. Israelis reacted to the identification, considering it a heavy security blow.

Other notable changes in the last year are related to the conflicts occurring between the Lebanese army and Israeli forces in the south Lebanon border (Qadese) in mid-August. This event is important in that it was the first time since Israel’s formation that Lebanese army troops based in the southern frontiers of the country prevented the Israeli military’s invasion of Lebanon. The conflict resulted in the murder of three troops, a Lebanese journalist, and an Israeli officer.

After these incidents, the Lebanese army stated its decision to defend the borders with all its power. However, the resistance forces stated that from now on they will resist Zionist aggression along with the military. This incident occurred due to the Israeli military action of installing cameras at the border and cutting of trees in Lebanon.

The event may not be that important for the two hostile countries militarily, but very significant due to the fact that Lebanese army entered into a military confrontation with Israel, and there will be an alignment of the military and the resistance in the future.