quote:
Had Hezbollah known how Israel was going to respond, the group would not have captured two Israeli soldiers last month in northern Israel, Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah said Sunday.But, in an interview with Lebanon's New TV, Nasrallah also said the war would have happened anyway -- a few months later.
He insisted, without offering evidence, that Israel had been planning to launch military action in October, and the July raid by Hezbollah merely moved up the Israelis' timetable.
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But, he added, "If we hadn't captured those soldiers, the war would have come in October anyway." Hezbollah's raid drew Israeli action sooner and "deprived the Israelis of the element of surprise," he said.
The Israelis wanted to begin this war," Nasrallah said, calling it "an American decision" with "many European countries" involved. He insisted Israel was looking for "an Arab cover."
snip
Despite Israel's reports that many Hezbollah fighters and officials were captured or killed, Nasrallah said, "the public leadership of Hezbollah -- they're all well, thank God. If the war had happened in October, it would not be like that."
I wonder if Israel still holds onto October war plans then? Their insistance that Hizbollah does not get rearmed so they can take them out later seems to point towards that ^^