�If Hizbullah strikes, we hit Lebanon�

The Jerusalem Post (Link) (July 26, 2010)

The IDF will attack Lebanese government institutions if Israel is again subjected to rocket attacks, Defense Minister Ehud Barak said in an interview with The Washington Post published Sunday.

He told the newspaper that since the Lebanese goverment is allowing Hizbullah to rearm, �we will not run after each Hizbullah terrorist or launcher. . . . We will see it as legitimate to hit any target that belongs to the Lebanese state, not just to Hizbullah.�

Ahead of his visit to Washington today, Barak drew attention to this issue as well as his views on the Iranian nuclear threat and the actions currently being taken by the international community.

�There are differences about what could be done about it, how it should be done, and what [is] the timeframe within which certain steps could be taken,� he told the newspaper.

The defense minister also reiterated his support for further sanctions against Iran, but said that there needs to be an awareness of the limitations.

�It�s still time for sanctions,� he said, though he added that �probably, at a certain point, we should realize that sanctions cannot work.�

Addressing the peace process, Barak told The Washington Post that the government�s will to move forward �is there. But, of course, the proof of the pudding is in the eating. We have to prove it in actions, in the negotiations.�