The Lebanese Hezbollah has warned that it is prepared to counter any Israeli action, saying Tel Aviv remains a threat to the Middle East.

"Hezbollah is prepared and ready for any surprise. We have experts and trainers. As long as Israel exists in the region, it poses a threat to Lebanon, Jordan, Syria, Palestine, Egypt and the entire region," said Hezbollah Deputy Secretary-General Sheikh Naim Qassem in an interview with Orange TV late Wednesday.

Israel fought a 33-day war against Hezbollah in the summer of 2006 to destroy the military power of the Lebanese resistance group. According to a recently published Winograd report, the attack backfired and wreaked a humiliating defeat on Israel.

According to Qassem, Tel Aviv inability to end Hezbollah presence in Lebanon in its 2006 war against the Lebanese movement may trigger another wave of Israeli military operations against Lebanon.

The former head of the Israeli National Security Council, Giora Eiland, has also commented on the issue, warning that Israel could once again fail if it stages military strikes against Lebanon for a third time.

Hezbollah has reportedly doubled its military might since its victory over Tel Aviv in the Israeli war against Lebanon in July 2006.

In a recent report, the Washington Institute for Near East Policy revealed that a third military conflict between Lebanon's Hezbollah and Israel is likely to happen in the near future.

Commenting on the recent Israeli aggression, Qassem said he believes Tel Aviv did not achieve any of its objectives in the Gaza Strip and thus cannot claim victory.

Touching on the Saudi-proposed Arab peace initiative adopted at the annual Arab League Summit in Beirut in 2002, the Hezbollah official explained that all such efforts were "buried after the Gaza war".

The Saudi peace initiative endeavors to put an end to the Arab-Israeli conflict and to normalize relations between Arab states and Israel in exchange for a full Israeli pullout from the Palestinian territories it has occupied.

The initiative is also directed at reaching a just settlement of the Palestinian refugee crisis.

MP/AA