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The Litani river is one of the most important waterways for Lebanon. It not only provides much of the water needs in South Lebanon, but it also has been routed through a dam for electrical power purposes. Citing it as a natural barrier, Israel has expressed intention to set up a security buffer zone in South Lebanon that stretches up to the Litani river. The Litani river is about 20 miles north of the Israel/Lebanon border. (The nearest part of the Litani to Israel is where the river turns by Nabatiya, about 2 miles from Israel’s border).
Israel has cited several reasons for its desire to invade up to the Litani river, including that this would make it nearly impossible for Hezbollah to launch rocket attacks into Israel. (Though Hezbollah has shown that it has the capabilities of launching rockets beyond a 20 mile range) I am not much of a “conspiracy theory” kind of guy, but there are some ulterior motives for Israel setting up its new boundary at the Litani.
The not often mentioned but very important points of conflict in the Middle East between Israel and its neighbors is access to water. Israel does not really have any access to fresh water. The old adage in the Middle East is, “Oil is plenty, but water is scarce.” All the countries are in need of more fresh water, especially Israel. By some estimates, “almost half of the water currently used in Israel is captured, diverted or preempted from its neighbors.” [1]
By setting up a safe zone to the Litani river, Israel may then have access to a very important water source. This thought process is not totally unfounded. There have been several cited accusations against Israel for having diverted water from the Litani when it had a military presence in South Lebanon in the 1980s and 1990s.
I am not suggesting that the recent conflict was not catalyzed by Hezbollah’s kidnapping of two Israeli soldiers. However, perhaps Israel was looking for an event that would serve as a catalyst where it could fulfill its ulterior motive. And perhaps Israel’s (documented) taunting of its Northern Neighbor and violation of UN resolutions (flying over Lebanese Air Space, unauthorized use of Lebanese waters, and setting up over 40,000 land mines in South Lebanon) was a way to provoke this conflict.
For more reading on the topic, check out this site and this site.
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Wow, thanks for breaking it down Eddy. I had no idea.