ISRAEL ratcheted up tension in the Middle East as early voting results in Lebanon’s first parliamentary elections in nine years indicated a strong showing for Hezbollah.

Israel’s Education Minister Naftali Bennett reacted by saying “Lebanon = Hezbollah,” warning that its gains showed that the Iranian-backed resistance group and the Lebanese state have become indistinguishable and that Israel should not distinguish between them in any future war.

“The state of Israel will not differentiate between the sovereign state of Lebanon and Hezbollah and will view Lebanon as responsible for any action from within its territory,” the right-wing Israeli cabinet member said.