Hezbollah brushes off Israeli threat

Israeli officials are waging a psychological war against the Lebanese people, Hezbollah's secretary-general proclaimed Friday. Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu sparked outrage in Beirut when he stated that Lebanon "does not exist on the new world map." Israel went to war with Hezbollah in 2006. Beirut has continued to complain that Israeli forces are conducting illegal military operations inside its territory, though Israeli officials have said they need to maintain a defensive posture. Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah said Friday that Israel is in no position to try to intimidate Beirut. "These statements are part of psychological warfare and have no effect on us," he was quoted by Lebanese newspaper The Daily Star as saying. The tensions follow meetings between the force commander of the U.N. Interim Force in Lebanon and members of the Israeli and Lebanese militaries. Israeli authorities had said they want to build a wall along the border with Lebanon. UNIFIL authorities said they'd work to ensure there are no border issues with the plans. "UNIFIL achieved full understanding both with Lebanese armed forces as well as with Israeli defense force on the scope and technical details of the works that are to be carried out," the peacekeeping missing said in a statement.