Hezbollah plotting to target Israelis

JERUSALEM, Aug. 10 (UPI) -- Hezbollah is plotting to target Israelis abroad to avenge the 2006 death of senior commander Imad Mughniyeh, Israeli defense officials said.

Haaretz reported Monday Israeli officials said they believe Hezbollah is motivated to carry out attacks because the recent explosions in a munitions dump in a southern Lebanese village generated bad press.

Despite the warnings, 330,000 Israelis traveled abroad the first week of August and hundreds of thousands more were expected to travel during September and October, the paper said.

Responding to the weekend reports in the Egyptian press that its security forces had uncovered a Hezbollah plot to target Israeli Ambassador to Cairo Shalom Cohen, Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon said Lebanon will be held responsible for Hezbollah's actions if any Israelis are harmed, the paper said.

Hashem Safi al-Din, chairman of Hezbollah's executive council, warned Israel Sunday against attacking Lebanon, threatening repercussions, The Jerusalem Post said. Al-Din said while Hezbollah is not interested in war, it is preparing for all eventualities, Haaretz said.

Haaretz said his comments were in response to statements made last week by Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak, who said Israel would not accept a situation in which 40,000 rockets were aimed at Israel. Barak's comments were in response a report in The Times of London that said Hezbollah has rockets capable of hitting Tel Aviv, Haaretz said.

Mughniyeh was considered Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah's right-hand man and was killed in a Damascus car bomb in February 2008.