[MIDDLEEASTEYE] Not since 2006 has the risk of war between Lebanon and Israel been so high.
Since Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah threatened to use force to prevent Israel from unilaterally extracting gas from certain eastern Mediterranean fields, there has been open and secret diplomacy to avoid a conflict whose consequences would be incalculable.
On 13 July, for the first time, Nasrallah explicitly threatened Israel with war if it went ahead with its plans in early September to start operating the Karish gas field, located on the edge of the Lebanese Exclusive Economic Zone.
These threats, repeated several times in recent weeks, were preceded by the launch of three surveillance drones towards the Karish platform on 2 July.
This was followed by the broadcast of a video as part of that psychological warfare, showing a launch pad and Iranian land-to-sea missiles of the Nour type (a modified version of the Chinese C-802 missile) and infrared images of Karish and Israeli production and extraction floating units around the platform, with their geographical coordinates.
THE MILITARY OPTION
At the end of July, Hezbollah operatives, dressed in khakis but without weapons, marched along the Lebanese-Israeli border, a few metres from the Israeli soldiers posted on the other side of the fence.
Nasrallah's threats peaked on 10 August. Addressing the crowd during the commemoration of Ashura, which marks the martyrdom in 680 of Imam Hussein, grandson of the Prophet Muhammad, the leader of Hezbollah asked his supporters to "be prepared for any eventuality... The hand that will touch our wealth will be severed," he insisted.
"By putting the military option on the table, Hassan Nasrallah actually wants to relaunch negotiations on the demarcation of the maritime border at a time when gas extraction in the eastern Mediterranean is becoming a global issue in the context of the confrontation between Russia and western countries," a former Lebanese foreign minister, who requested anonymity, told Middle East Eye.
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