Lebanese Sources Say Israel Sending Threatening Mobile Phone Messages

Israel is sending voice messages to mobile phones in Lebanon as part of a psychological war, “inciting the Lebanese against Hezbollah”, Hezbollah’s Al-Manar TV reported on its English- language website on 17 July.

The website quoted Voice of Lebanon Radio, one of the country’s oldest and most established outlets, as saying it had received complaints from residents in Beirut and southern Lebanon that they had received recorded voice messages on their mobile phones, promising Israeli retaliation against any attack and urging them not to allow the establishment of a Hezbollah “state within a state”.

During the 2006 war, “Israel used a variety of technological weapons to wage a psychological war on Lebanon, including hacking into Hezbollah’s Al-Manar television station and sending text messages and voice messages to mobile phones”, the Al-Manar website report recalled.

The Lebanese National News Agency (NNA) said on the 17th that Minister of Telecommunications Jibran Bassil was investigating reports about Israel “hacking the landline network by sending anti- Lebanese voice messages.”

He had ordered his staff to take “all necessary steps to monitor and stop the flagrant violation of Lebanon and its sovereignty”.

Originally published by Al-Manar Television website, Beirut, in Arabic 1340 17 Jul 08; Lebanese National News Agency website, Beirut, in Arabic 1057 17 Jul 08.

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