Hassan Nasrallah, the Secretary-General of Hezbollah, said today that Hezbollah was responsible for the drone that entered Israeli airspace last week. The drone was designed by Iran, assembled by Hezbollah in Lebanon, and then launched by Hezbollah.
“It’s not the first time (that a drone was sent) and it will not be the last. We can reach all the zones” of Israel, said Nasrallah, referring back to a 2006 incident in which a Hezbollah drone badly damaged an Israeli warship.
The drone “overflew sensitive and important installations for dozens of kilometers until the enemy spotted it near (the nuclear site) Dimona”, said Nasrallah.
Nasrallah “wants to provoke Israel and play on Arab feelings that he is still holding the flag of the Arab resistance against Israel” said Sami Nader, professor of international relations at St. Joseph University in Beirut.
As a militant group, Hezbollah is most powerful and receives most of its support during wartime. In sending the drone into Israeli airspace, Hezbollah hopes to goad Israel into overreacting, thus justifying its own presence in Lebanon as well as garnering local support.
The drone incident also helps Hezbollah distract attention from the uprising in Syria against its ally Bashar al-Assad. Nasrallah said, “The regime in Syria doesn’t need us or anyone else to fight alongside it“, however opposition groups have claimed that Hezbollah members are fighting alongside Assad’s army.
Launching the drone into Israeli airspace was also a move by Hezbollah on behalf of Iran. Hezbollah receives financial and political assistance, as well as weapons and training from Iran. Part of the drone’s job may have been to gain intel on Israel’s military and nuclear sites to share with Iran.
Both Iran and Israel have been engaged in a cold war that is threatening to turn hot. Iran has fought Israel by proxy using Hezbollah, and any antagonizing that Hezbollah does to Israel will distact Israel from its bigger threat, Iran.
If Hezbollah successfully goads Israel into retaliating, the left would see it as an example of how violent and reckless Israel is, and as evidence for Iran being the non-belligerent one. If Israel strikes Hezbollah in Lebanon, it may also give Lebanon and their allies an excuse to join the fight against Israel.
The best move Israel can make at this point regarding the drone incident is to not react to Hezbollah’s provocations. The world opinion will not be with Israel if any retaliation is made.
Kapil Komireddi is an Indian journalist that writes on world affairs, foreign policy, India, Pakistan, and the Middle East.