Special to WorldTribune.com

TEL AVIV — Hizbullah has been using the Lebanese Army to threaten Israel.

Military sources said Hizbullah was sending Lebanese soldiers to the Israeli border in an effort to stage a provocation.

The sources said Hizbullah was also deploying plainclothes and uniformed fighters to test Israel’s defenses.

“They are trying to escalate tension,” a source said.

On Oct. 5, a suspected Hizbullah squad crossed the United Nations border line between Lebanon and Israel. An Israel Army elite unit opened fire and one person was injured in the so-called Shebaa Farms.

The operation was said to reflect Hizbullah’s new policy in southern Lebanon. The sources said the Iranian proxy, after years of low profile, has been testing Israel with infiltration from both Lebanon and Syria.

“In some cases, Hizbullah uses its own fighters, but often they send Lebanese soldiers to the border,” another source said. “They want to create a new situation on the ground.”

The sources said the Israeli military has detected increased movement by Hizbullah and Shi’ite units of the U.S.-equipped Lebanese Army along the border. Hizbullah has also planted its flags in border villages in what appeared to be an effort to deter Israel.

The sources said Iran and Syria have transferred advanced rockets to Hizbullah in Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley. They cited the arrival of the Borkan missile in early 2014, a powerful weapon with a range of seven kilometers.

Hizbullah’s use of the Lebanese Army appeared to depart from Israeli intelligence assessments that Hizbullah was not prepared to confront Israel.

The assessments cited the deployment of up to 8,000 Hizbullah troops in Syria.

“It is clear we are dealing with a highly unstable situation,” the second source said.

  Bekaa Valley, Israel: Hizbullah raising profile, Shebaa Farms, using Lebanese soldiers to test Israeli defenses