[Marxism] Lebanese water (Asia Times article)

[Les Schaffer <schaffer@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

It's about annexation, stupid!
By Kaveh L Afrasiabi

Officially, Israel's ground invasion of Lebanon is an act of
self-defense against Hezbollah's threat, aimed at creating a security
buffer zone until the arrival of a "multinational force with an
enforcement capability". But increasingly, as the initial goal of a
narrow strip of only a few kilometers has now been extended up to the
Litani River deep in Lebanon, the real motives behind Israel's invasion
are becoming crystal-clear.

It's about (de facto) annexation, stupid. This is a war to annex a major
chunk of Lebanese territory without necessarily saying so, under the
pretext of security buffer and deterrence against future attacks on Israel.

Already, since the Six Day War, Israel has annexed the Sheba Farms,
considered part of the Syrian Golan Heights, although the government of
Lebanon has long complained that the 25-square-kilometer area was a part
of Lebanon. Now the Israeli army is sweeping the area south of the
Litani River as a temporary occupation.

"We have no intention of extending our operation more than 70 kilometers
north of our borders with Lebanon," stated Lieutenant-Colonel Hemi Lini
on the Lebanese border on July 17, one week after the war's outbreak.

This would put Israel, assuming for a moment that the Israel Defense
Forces' operations prove ultimately successful, in control of the Litani
River, thus fulfilling Israel's founding fathers' dream, stretching back
to Chaim Weizmann, head of the World Zionist Organization, who in 1919
declared the river "essential to the future of the Jewish national home".

Consequently, contrary to the pro-Israel pundits' reassurances that this
war is not about occupation, all the tangible signs indicate the exact
opposite, ie, the distinct possibility of a "war of acreage" whereby
Israel would expand its territory, acquire a new strategic depth, and
simultaneously address its chronic water shortage by exploiting the Litani.

[snip]

http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/HH05Ak01.html

found this via google:

http://web.macam.ac.il/~arnon/Int-ME/water/THE%20LITANI%20RIVER.htm

les

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