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Netanyahu raises doubts with operation against Hezbollah tunnels

The timing of Operation Northern Shield, to destroy Hezbollah tunnels leading from Lebanon into Israel, suggests that considerations other than security were behind the decision to launch it.

An Israeli commando from the engineering corps Yahalom ("Diamond") unit takes part in a tunnel-hunting drill in Sirkin special forces base, near Tel Aviv March 7, 2012. Israel, fearing a surge in tunnel and bunker construction by Hezbollah and Palestinian militants in neighbouring Lebanon and Gaza, is training crack troops to hunt below ground with the help of robot probes and sniffer dogs. REUTERS/Nir Elias (ISRAEL - Tags: POLITICS MILITARY) - GM1E83802EC01
An Israeli commando from Yahalom, an engineering unit, takes part in a tunnel-hunting drill near Tel Aviv, March 7, 2012.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivered a speech to Likud activists on Dec. 2 that was both defensive and combative toward law enforcement authorities. He complained about the supposedly suspicious timing of the police announcement recommending his indictment for taking bribes in Case 4000, coming as it did one day before Police Commissioner Roni Alsheikh concluded his term in office.

Barely 48 hours later, on the morning of Dec. 4, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) announced the launch of Operation Northern Shield to locate tunnels dug by Hezbollah along the Lebanese-Israeli border. Along with relevant remarks about the actual operation, quite a few commenters joked and wondered about its timing.

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