Israel Says Syria, Not Just Iran, Supplied Missiles to Hezbollah
WASHINGTON — New postwar intelligence indicates that the militant group Hezbollah had broader access to sophisticated weaponry than was publicly known -- including large numbers of medium-range rockets made in Syria, said U.S. and Israeli government officials and military analysts.
The size of the Hezbollah arsenal and the direct role of Syria in supplying it will complicate the daunting task of keeping Hezbollah from rearming, the officials said.
Before the war, Hezbollah's access to weapons supplied by Iran and shipped through other countries was well documented. So was Syria's political support for Hezbollah and its role in allowing shipments of arms into Lebanon from Iran. But Washington thought Syria for the most part was not supplying munitions directly.
The new weapons data indicating a broader Syrian role were gathered by Israel largely by examining debris left by shells that hit the country during the conflict. The examination uncovered the serial numbers and other defining characteristics of the weapons. Israel's postwar forensics have shown some of the rockets were manufactured by the Syrian munitions industry, military sources said.
Hezbollah fired between 3,700 and 3,800 rockets at Israel during the 34 days of fighting. The rockets, which landed across northern Israel and killed 43 civilians, were the most sustained attack on Israeli towns and cities since the war that greeted the country's founding in 1948, and highlighted a significant vulnerability for the Jewish state.
The disclosures about Syria's role in supplying Hezbollah dovetail with postwar diplomatic strategies.
Israel, backed by the Bush administration, would like to see international peacekeepers deployed along the Syria-Lebanon border -- a step it says is needed to prevent arms shipments to Hezbollah. Lebanon, backed by U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan, has resisted that idea, as have the Syrians.
Syrian officials would not confirm or deny the reports.
"These are just accusations," said a spokesman for the Syrian Embassy in Washington, who requested anonymity because only the ambassador was allowed to discuss official Syrian policy. "If they have evidence, they should make it clear."
U.S. and European plans for stabilizing Lebanon rest heavily on preventing Hezbollah from rearming. Although a U.N. peacekeeping force still being formed will not be asked to disarm the militia, it will try to prevent flows of new arms to militants.
