Israel Wants To Be Friends With Lebanon--But Not THAT Friendly

While Olmert has made peace overtures with Lebanon, apparently there are limits:

Israel is reportedly attempting to block a $400 million arms deal between the United States and Lebanon that would reportedly include hundreds of anti-tank missiles.

Israeli authorities have stated that recent events in Lebanon, including Hezbollah's resurgence in the south, have led them to believe that the arms transfer could pose a security threat, namely if future clashes cause government forces to splinter, possibly causing the arms to fall into the hands of the Lebanese Shi'ite militia Hezbollah.

If Israel is so afraid of the instability of Lebanon that it wants to keep those weapons out of Lebanon, why has it said that it is ready to put "every issue of contention" on the table (read: "make painful concessions").

Lebanon is looking more and more like the PA.

Technorati Tag: Israel and Lebanon.