Middle East on alert for attacks
The Australian

ISRAEL, Hezbollah and Syria were braced for attack and counter-attack as tensions grew in the Middle East amid fears that Hezbollah would seek to avenge the February assassination by Israel of security chief Imad Mughniyeh.

Tension grew as reports emerged of military preparations on both sides of the border.

Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak cancelled an important trip to Germany early in the week and made a high-profile visit to the northern border to issue a blunt warning.

"Israel is the strongest country in the region, and I would not recommend that anyone from the other side of the border test us," he said.

Israel has acknowledged stepping up airforce flights along the northern border in recent days.

According to an Arabic-language newspaper published in London, Al-Quds al-Arabi, Syria has deployed three divisions along its border with Lebanon opposite the Bekaa Valley, a route Israeli forces might take if they choose to attack Damascus via Lebanon.

The paper said Syria had mobilised reserves in anticipation of a clash.
 

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