BICOM

IDF Chief of Staff Benny Gantz yesterday indicated that Hezbollah is at its weakest point for some time. Speaking at the graduation ceremony for the Israel Air Force’s pilot course, Gantz said that uncertainty to Israel’s north means “we need to be ready and more prepared than ever.” He explained that “Syria is still bleeding, and in Lebanon, the flames are creeping up on [Hezbollah head Hassan] Nasrallah.”

According to Yediot Ahronot, Gantz’s comment is the first public indication of the IDF’s assessment that Hezbollah is currently at a low ebb, essentially fighting on three fronts. Hezbollah remains committed to attacking Israel. Meanwhile, it has been fighting side by side with President Assad’s forces in Syria and has suffered the reported loss of at least two hundred, mainly elite fighters. Its deep involvement in Syria has lead to Hezbollah facing increasing criticism in Lebanon, where it is accused of entangling Lebanon in Syria’s violent conflict. Israel reportedly believes that Hezbollah is overstretching itself and Yediot Ahronot suggests that Nasrallah himself well understands this weakness.

In a related development, Italian Deputy Foreign Minister Lapo Pistelli told the Lebanese newspaper Daily Star yesterday that a European Union (EU) decision on blacklisting Hezbollah as a terrorist organisation will likely not be taken until late 2013. The UK is pushing for the EU to adopt such a classification, but Pistelli called the decision “very sensitive” as Hezbollah is a very “relevant player” in Lebanon. Pistelli said that the EU decision will rest on deliberations over a Bulgarian investigation earlier this year which found Hezbollah responsible for a bus bomb in the Bulgarian resort of Burgas, killing five Israeli tourists last July.

Meanwhile, Maariv reports this morning that officials from four EU countries have recently secretly met with Hamas officials, in an effort to have Hamas removed from the EU’s list of terror organisations.