Gadi Eizenkot
Israeli Chief of General Staff Gadi Eizenkot
Israeli Chief of General Staff, Gadi Eizenkot, said on Wednesday that Hezbollah has gained so much experience in the past years, especially as regards the fighting, that there is no point in underestimating it, noting the Lebanese movement has received massive military support from abroad and greatly improved its ways of collecting information, stressing that the movement is not only a political party, but also a sophisticated military force.

"Hezbollah is the enemy that worries us a lot more than any other enemy around us", Eizenkot said.

He stressed that the enemy that worries Israel the most right now is Hezbollah, and is at the absolute top of the chart, noting that Hezbollah and Hamas are both aware of the "bitter price" they will pay, should they ever infiltrate into Israel's territory.

"During the second Lebanese war we looked at Nasrallah as a target and tried to strike him from the beginning of the war", he mentioned.

Eizenkot noted that he could not guarantee that there will be no infiltration into the territory of Israel and its settlements.

"This week the Lebanese chief of staff boasted of victory in Qalamoun. We will now have to impose our responsibility in the south", he said, adding that shortly after Hezbollah's leader Hassan Nasrallah and his crew launched "hostile statements" about the border issue, the Lebanese Prime Minister Sa'ad Hariri traveled to the United States where he became aware that there is a demand to impose the responsibility of the Lebanese state as regards the border.

On the Syrian-Iranian issue, Eizenkot said that should Iran indeed boost its presence in Syria, this would be the bad news for the whole region. "We already said that we will not accept any type of Iranian concentration near Israel. This is a clear Israeli interest, which can be expressed not only by words, but also by deeds."

The Chief of General Staff considered that Iran was the major threat to Israel during the last decade, pointing out that Israel demands that Iran immediately removes its forces from Syria in favour of regional security and stability, a thing that would greatly conform to the interests of Israeli security.

Eizenkot said Iran sees itself as a regional superpower, pointing out that confronting its threat is Israel's primary task, and especially focused on preventing its nuclear program from being further developed, as well as to reducing its political influence in the region.

The Israeli Chief of General Staff noted that in the past, Israel demanded immediate removal of Iranian and Hezbollah's forces from the border area between Israel and Syria, though nothing has happened so far.

Regarding the situation in occupied Palestine, Eizenkot considered that changing the status quo in Temple Mount is not acceptable, stressing that the staff recommended the army to return to the site as soon as possible.

Regarding the issue of Gaza, Eizenkot said the humanitarian situation there is difficult, especially due to severe shortages of water and electricity, noting that there is no famine as Israel allows at least 1,000 trucks to cross into Gaza on a daily basis, bringing the necessary food and aid supplies.

"The Israeli Army continues to build the wall throughout the West Bank to reach a situation similar to that on the southern border where no one managed to infiltrate from the Egyptian side of the border", he said.

Before finishing his speech, Eizenkot said IDF has already made a plan for a possible attack on Iran, and which is only waiting to be green-lighted by the politicians.