Israel says Syria continues to arm Hezbollah | Top News | Reuters.com

Israel says Syria continues to arm Hezbollah | Top News | Reuters.com: "JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israel accused Syria on Monday of continuing to smuggle weapons to Hezbollah guerrillas in Lebanon in violation of a United Nations-backed ceasefire and said it might take military action if the shipments didn't stop.

'We view this with great severity,' Israeli Defense Minister Amir Peretz told a parliamentary panel, according to a legislative spokesman who along with Peretz heard an army intelligence officer give details of the alleged smuggling.

'We are in the process of gathering evidence,' the spokesman quoted Peretz as saying. 'If it turns into a steady occurrence, we will deal with the smuggling ourselves.'

The intelligence officer, Brigadier General Yossi Baidatz, told the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee 'smuggling of arms and ammunition continues from the Syrian side to Hezbollah,' in violation of U.N. Resolution 1701, the spokesman said.

The resolution passed in August led to an end to a 34-day war between Israel and Hezbollah that erupted after guerrillas captured two Israeli soldiers in a cross-border raid from Lebanon on July 12.

During the war, Hezbollah rained nearly 4,000 rockets on northern Israel and Israeli forces pounded guerrilla targets in Lebanon. Some 1,200 Lebanese " Read complete post here.