From Ynet News, 25/7/06, by Associated Press ...
Senior Hizbullah official says group didn't expect Israel to react so strongly to capture of two Israeli soldiers last month; stresses Hizbullah will not lay down arms
A senior Hizbullah official said Tuesday his group did not expect Israel to react so strongly to its capture of two Israeli soldiers last month. Mahmoud Komati, deputy chief of the Hizbullah politburo, also told The Associated Press that his group would not lay down arms. His comments were the first time that a leader from the terror organization had suggested it failed to calculate the consequences of the July 12 cross-border raid that seized the two soldiers.
... "The truth is - let me say this clearly - we didn't even expect (this) response.... That (Israel) would exploit this operation for this big war against us," said Komati. He said Hizbullah had expected "the usual, limited response" from Israel. In the past, he said, Israeli reponses to Hizbullah actions included sending in commandos into Lebanon and taking Hizbullah officials into custody or briefly targeting specific Hizbullah strongholds in southern Lebanon. He said his group had also anticipated negotiations to swap the soldiers with three Lebanese prisoners in Israeli jails, with Germany acting as a mediator as it has in past prisoner exchanges....
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