The Middle East News Line conducted Israel’s air war in Lebanon has already caused strategic damage to the Iranian-sponsored Hizbullah, a leading parliamentarian said.

Yuval Steinitz, deputy chairman of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, said Israeli air strikes have destroyed Hizbullah weapons arsenals and military capabilities. At the same time, Steinitz said Hizbullah rocket strikes demonstrated the emerging rocket and missile threat to Israel. He was interviewed on Sunday by the Middle East News Line.

Q. What does the current campaign indicate regarding the effectiveness of an Israeli air war.

A. The air force has very limited absorption capability for counter-fire. What is done by an air force can also be achieved by precision-guided missiles. The helicopter is a missile launching pad, but a very expensive one. The air force is effective, not 100 percent effective.

Q. Was the Hizbullah rocket campaign a surprise?

A. This was not a surprise. Over the last two years, we conducted exercises based on scenarios even worse than this. It doesn’t mean that the preparations were complete. We didn’t invest in interception. We didn’t invest in intercepting rockets. It costs money to develop this. It is in the infancy stage.

Q. Could the Israeli military have prevented the Hizbullah war?

A. Over the last year, Israel’s deterrence has been badly damaged. It began with Hizbullah strikes from Rajar to abduct Israelis, which was met by a tactical military response. It continued with Hamas and its Kassam missile strikes on Sderot. Over the last year, there was a range of provocations in which Israeli responded tactically and with great restraint.

Q. Did Israel know that Hizbullah had acquired the Chinese-origin C802 cruise missile?

A. We were surprised [by the C802]. We didn’t know of cruise missiles in Lebanon. It was not a pleasant surprise. It is a land-to-sea missile. We have to examine this with Israel Navy. We have to make changes in the navy. The Saar-5’s Barak-1 [missile defense] system did not work. It didn’t even detect it. The Barak-1 system was not operating.

Q. Has Hizbullah been hurt by Israeli air strikes?

A. We have already harmed Hizbullah strategically by destroying its warehouses in Beirut and damaging Hizbullah’s status in Lebanon and the world. There is a realistic chance that this operation could being about [Security Council] Resolution 1559.

Q. Is there U.S. pressure on Israel for a ceasefire?

A. I don’t believe there is real U.S. pressure on Israel.

Q. Does the lack of an experienced prime minister, defense minister and chief of staff count in such a war?

A. It’s not a lack of experience here that counts. It’s a lack of interest. Moshe Arens was the best defense minister over the last 20 years and he was a civilian. The issue is to build the force over the next 20 years. It is not so much what to do in crisis, but what to do today for the next 10 and 20 years. And there the defense minister makes a great difference.

Q. Does Israel have to reassess its combat doctrine after this missile war?

A. We have to reassess our combat doctrine. Hizbullah has shown that if a small group can cover the entire northern Israel [with missiles], then Arab countries can do 1,000 times more. The question is whether we take this into account in our combat doctrine and logistics? Should we invest in greater efforts to absorb punishment? If Hizbullah can strike in Haifa or Tel Aviv, then Syria and Saudi Arabia can strike us much more effectively.

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