Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak on Sunday called the situation in Lebanon "serious" after deadly clashes

between government forces and Hezbollah.
 
"Hezbollah's taking of control (in west Beirut) is a serious development," Barak said during the weekly cabinet

meeting, public radio reported.

Barak's view was shared by other Israeli ministers who raised doubts about the ability of the Lebanese

government and army to control Hezbollah, which seized west Beirut on Friday after three days of deadly battles.

Gunmen from Hezbollah and its opposition allies only withdrew after the army on Saturday revoked government

decisions taken against the Hezbollah private network.

However, fighting erupted Sunday in mainly Druze areas southeast of Beirut, pitting supporters of the Western-

backed government against rivals from the opposition.

Israeli military intelligence chief General Amos Yadlin told the cabinet that "the moderate camp has suffered

another blow in Beirut" against "Hezbollah which has shown its military strength," a senior official said.

The government is also concerned that unrest in Lebanon will boost Iran's influence with Hezbollah and the

Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas.

"The most dangerous possibility for us is to see Iran's proxies take control of the Gaza Strip and Lebanon

because the fates of both regions are connected," Deputy Defense Minister Matan Vilnai told Israeli public radio.

"(Egyptian) President Hosni Mubarak recently declared that Egypt already has a border with Iran with the Gaza

Strip. For us it's even worse because it's not only the Gaza Strip but also Lebanon in the north," Vilnai said.

Vilnai added that Israel did not intend to intervene in the crisis but had to "keep its eyes open."

"Hezbollah put down the government of Lebanon," Israel's Interior Minister Meir Sheetrit told reporters ahead of

the weekly cabinet meeting.

"It's a very dangerous step in the long run because it is clear that Hezbollah is Iran's long arm. I hope Lebanon's

government and army will come to their senses or we will face the reality where Iran rules Lebanon," he said.

A security official in Lebanon said "more than four" Israeli warplanes overflew southern Lebanon on Sunday in

violation of the country's airspace.

Israeli jets regularly overfly Lebanon in violation of UN Security Council Resolution 1701 which brought an end

to the 2006 war.

-AFP/NOW Staff