Liberman says Lebanese army now part of Iranian-led threat on northern border

Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman warns of a coalescing, Iran-led threat on Israel’s northern border, which includes the Lebanese Armed Forces, during an event with the IDF General Staff.

“A new reality is coming together against us: the Lebanese army, in cooperation with Hezbollah, the Syrian army, the Shiite militias in Syria and, above it all, Iran — all of them coming together into one front against the State of Israel. The northern front,” Liberman says.

The defense minister makes his remarks at an event with the IDF’s top brass to mark Israel’s upcoming Independence Day.

“This is a strategic challenge of the first degree that requires all of us — the IDF and the entire defense establishment — to go up a notch and further strengthen our readiness and preparedness,” he says.

Liberman says he is sure that the IDF is up to the task, referring to the military as the “best and most moral army in the world.”

Lebanese army soldiers from the special forces unit patrol Qaa, a predominantly Lebanese Christian village near the Syrian border where suicide bombers had blown themselves up among civilians the day before, June 28, 2016. (AP Photo)

— Judah Ari Gross