Kaplinski, who met Israeli defense reporters in Tel Aviv, was reacting to rumors of a possible showdown.

"I hear the voices," he said, but "to the best of our assessment, which is also my personal assessment, we do not expect a war this summer from Syria."

On the other hand, "We cannot ignore what we see," he continued. He cited Iranian involvement, encouragement of "regional instability," Syrian aid to Hezbollah and Syrian army preparations even though "to the best of our understanding these processes are mainly defensive."

That is why the Israeli army is "increasing our alertness and readiness," Kaplinski said.

The Israeli military has been exercising on the Golan Heights, and recently the Golani infantry brigade, one of Israel's best units, completed high-profile war games.

The chief of staff of the 91st division that is deployed along the Lebanese border, Lt. Col. Guy Hazoot, noted the training is only "for a situation that will escalate."

"The worst-case (scenario) is war, and we have to prepare for the worst case," he said.

Israeli leaders have been wary of a "miscalculation" in which neither side wants war but finds itself in one. It happened exactly a year ago when Hezbollah abducted two soldiers and killed eight.

Hezbollah leader Sheik Hassan Nasrallah said after the war he would not have launched the kidnapping had he known Israel would retaliate so forcefully. The Israeli Winograd Committee, which has been investigating the war, said the government that ordered attacks following the kidnapping did not understand their significance.

Neither side wanted war, but both were in it for 33 days. -UPI