"The last thing I would want is a third Lebanon war," Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman said during an Israel Beytenu faction meeting Monday.
The defense minister also addressed what he called an "Iranian effort to form a noose around Israel."
These efforts, according to Lieberman, consist of trying to build military bases in Syria and missile manufacturing plants in Lebanon. He added that the Iranians have "perhaps become the main sponsor of Hamas' military wing."
"I can state clearly from our side that we are determined to prevent Iran from gaining a foothold in Syria. We know about the missile facilities in Lebanon, and we know about the people involved in manufacturing those missiles and we, of course, are resolved to eliminating the terror tunnels from the Gaza Strip into Israel," he said.
"We are using all of our leverage, diplomatic and otherwise, to prevent this missile manufacturing. It's possible to stop what is happening in Lebanon through more than just bombs. I think there are still enough resources, enough options, and we are utilizing all of them," Lieberman said.
He stressed that Israel was "determined to prevent Lebanon from becoming one giant factory for precision missiles."
Hezbollah, meanwhile, said Monday that it "has capabilities that can destroy the Israeli army."
The Lebanon-based Shiite terrorist organization was responding to an article on Sunday written by IDF Spokesman Brig. Gen. Ronen Manelis, in which he warned the Lebanese people against becoming a pawn in Iran's attempts to gain influence in the Middle East, a process he said would "turn Lebanon into a powder keg."
