Why is there a ceasefire now? Eyebrows were raised. It doesn't make sense! Right now, when the boxer has the upper hand in the ring? It doesn't make sense for him to stop snookering his opponent until he falls to the floor. A timeout will give the beaten opponent time to recover and fight back. A clearly illogical move.
After the extraordinary military successes of the IDF and the security forces that were reflected in the targeted assassinations of Hezbollah commanders and leaders, and in the extensive destruction of the weapons and infrastructure of this terrorist organization, we were surprised on Wednesday evening 25/9/24 to hear of an initiative by France and the USA to apply An immediate ceasefire between the hawks, for three weeks.
Is Netanyahu a partner in the initiative?
Was this initiative released to the world with the knowledge and permission of Benjamin Netanyahu? It is still not clear.
The Prime Minister of Israel and his entourage were found at the time of the publication of the initiative, on board a "Zion Wing" plane on its way to the USA, on its way to give a speech in front of the National Assembly, at a time when Israel is in a state of war. When the political systems and the media were concerned here with the question of whether Israel should respond to this proposal , the Prime Minister of Israel did not respond, even though the means of communication installed on the "Zion Wing" plane allow him to do so. Is it possible that he supports this move, contrary to his clear statements?
A ceasefire at this time has one and only one certain beneficiary: Nasrallah.
A ceasefire would buy him the time needed to restore the control and command system that was destroyed, appoint replacements for those who were eliminated, coordinate, plan, recover, and return after the ceasefire strengthened and fit for battle. So why would Israel be interested in a cease-fire of this kind for another three weeks?!
what did we have
The war on the Lebanese border actually began immediately after October 7, 2023, at the same time as the terrorist attack by Hamas on Israeli settlements and outposts in the Gaza Envelope. Hezbollah launched a missile, rocket and anti-aircraft missile attack on the northern settlements, and the Israeli government decided to evacuate tens of thousands of Israelis from their homes.
The IDF, which was humiliated in the first days of the terrorist attack by Hamas, came to its senses and in a short time began to damage and eliminate the military force and the infrastructure of this organization.
And what about a counterattack in the north? Nada! nothing!
It is said that Defense Minister Gallant wanted to attack Hezbollah with force right at the beginning of the "Iron Swords" war, but was stopped by Netanyahu and the cabinet of the unity government, which at the time also included Eisenkot and Gantz.
Almost a year has passed. Hamas, according to all signs, was crushed to death, but did not surrender. Although over 100 abductees are still being held somewhere in tunnels in the Gaza Strip, the Israeli government has finally decided that it is time to react strongly in Lebanon as well, after a year of the war of attrition forced upon us by Nasrallah.
not powers
The success of the IDF and the rest of our security forces is amazing. Accurate intelligence and creative and daring operations made it possible to strike powerfully at Hezbollah's terrorist army. However, we must honestly admit that a war of a regional power like Israel, against Hezbollah and Hamas, is not similar to the wars we had against countries Enemy in the past. These terrorist organizations have no air force, no armored forces, and no real air defense. So, as the guys say, why remove the gloves difficult?
Afraid of a regional war in which Iran will attack? It has already done so in half a clutch (on the night of the missiles), and all the signs indicate that it will not enter the war, for fear of US involvement.
What's the solution?
So what should Israel do in the given situation? As usual, there is no simple solution for this, but perhaps there is a correct solution for this situation.
For over two decades, Israel normalized the relationship with the terrorist organizations and accepted Hezbollah and Hamas as sovereign entities.
A clearly abnormal situation, because a sovereign state is defined as an entity with a territory, over which internal and external sovereignty is applied. It has a permanent population, an independent government with the exclusive right to exercise supreme authority over that geographical area and the people living there (Wikipedia). The force that allows the state to maintain its rights externally is the army at the disposal of that government.
But Lebanon is a country that does not fully meet this definition. The military force that controls southern Lebanon is not the army of the Lebanese state. It is a military force of a terrorist organization that is not subject to the Lebanese government, even if it has representatives in the parliament and the government. Hezbollah is a daughter state of Iran, within the state of Lebanon.
An opportunity to change reality
Therefore, Israel's acceptance of Hezbollah as a party to the conflict is the root of the problem.
The elimination of the state within a state created by Iran in Lebanon
Whoever says that this is the reality - the Lebanese government does not have the power to control Hezbollah's army.
The mortal blow received by Hezbollah is a golden opportunity that will allow this situation to be fundamentally changed. In order to achieve the change, Israel must make the ceasefire in the north conditional on the agreement being signed between Israel and Lebanon, on the condition that the sovereign government of Lebanon undertakes to disband any military force that is not under its control.
It sounds ridiculous because she doesn't have the power to do it. Therefore, Israel must demand from the US and French governments, the bridesmaids of the cease-fire agreement, to assist it in eliminating the state within a state created by Iran in Lebanon.
Removal of all the mines, tunnels and bunkers
As part of the agreement, Israel must demand that IDF forces be allowed to enter, accompanied by the Lebanese army and/or international forces, all areas in southern Lebanon that have been subject de facto to Hezbollah's rule in recent years, and to remove from there all the military tunnels, tunnels and bunkers that threaten the State of Israel. As part of the agreement, Israel should demand recognition by the nation of its right (which already exists) to respond immediately to any violation of the agreement or any violation of Israel's sovereignty over Lebanese territory.
And what about Gaza?
The same principles should be applied in Gaza as well. Israel should strive for an agreement with some sovereign, most likely the Palestinian Authority, to which control of the Palestinian settlements was transferred within the framework of the Oslo Accords (1995), while security sovereignty remained in the hands of the IDF. This situation went completely wrong in 2007 when Hamas violently took control of the Strip and expelled the Palestinian Authority from there. From the moment Israel agreed to a situation in which it was deprived of security control in the area, Hamas grew stronger as a state of a terrorist organization.
The policy of the Israeli governments led by Netanyahu was to accept this reality, contain the threat, treat Hamas as the sovereign on the ground and restrain it through bribery... the results of this policy are known.
The reality we are used to must change
In order to return the residents of the north to their homes and to rehabilitate the settlements surrounding Gaza and to get Israel back on track, the reality to which we have become accustomed must change. To do this, Israel needs a brave leadership, capable of thinking outside the box, with political courage and vision, and most importantly, with integrity and unifying leadership ability.
This is what Israel needs today like air to breathe.
Where are those intellectuals from the left who want "elections now"? Where are the demonstrations?
Now that you understand that Netanyahu and the right-wing are gaining momentum and have subdued Hezbollah and will win 70 seats, are you suddenly silent about elections?
Who are you building on? About your cousins from the joint? Supporters of the Palestinian people? After all, without the joint venture, you have no political possibility. be ashamed
Yossi Berger Money for silence was the idea of the left and not of Netanyahu, he simply continued so that the left would not drink his blood and as you were wrong on this issue, you were also wrong on the issue of Hezbollah because you thought that Netanyahu would run for a cease fire that the United States and France are offering and he did the opposite, he gave an order to eliminate Nasrallah and basically It matters because when it's all over you'll try to find another reason why he should resign because after all it's just not Bibi's agenda again.
Yaron Habibi
When you blindly admire…
A politician without an ideology, whose inclusivity is his art, a pathological liar, an exploitative narcissist, a failure with countless receipts, a narrow-minded coward (even you say that), an evil who collaborated with an arch-terrorist who threw him in the trash like a gullible, with the eloquence of a seventh-grade sales agent , lacks self-respect, lacks morals, a wretched credit thief (he gave an instruction from Alek...), surrounded by inferior people and malkaki Pincha, accused of crimes, a person who brought a security and economic disaster on our people and our homeland, and continues to do so every day for his personal interests.
... If you believe in such a person, what can be said about you? At best you are gullible, the ruler deceived by the poison machine of the rogue and his slaves. At worst, you are part of it.
I recommend to anyone who has not yet understood who we are dealing with, to watch the "Calculated Risk" series on YouTube.
Why are you arguing and posting like that?
Thanks to Prime Minister Mr. Netanyahu we are defeating Hezbollah and here we are writing with confidence and a high quality of life.
Of course, credit to the army as well, but we saw what your leader Lapid did who signed a naval agreement with the enemy.
Learn to praise the left. Dear Prime Minister Netanyahu's success is the success of our countries.
Woe to us if your left was in power - in my opinion it is possible that the State of Israel would have been defeated and surrendered militarily.
We received the answer in the evening.
The prime minister used his visit to New York and the issue of regulation only as a sophisticated diversionary tool to surprise and approve an attack on Hezbollah's central headquarters in Beirut when the enemy had no idea at all that Israel would attack during his stay at the rally while they listen to the Israeli media from the left who as usual criticize and criticize his visit and his performance.
It should be noted that this time the sick obsession of the media and the left helped the Prime Minister and our army.
The left in Israel mourns and is deeply depressed over the successes in Lebanon.
In the end they return to mourning.
It is true that the government cannot be further blamed for the lawlessness of the north, but there is still the Kidnapped Festival, deal-deal-deal-deal..
They want to rule in Lebanon but not in Gaza?
Does anyone understand what they even want - worse and more confused than the government they are against.
Hizbollah's defeat, in a rather rare way that is unlikely to happen again, is within reach given the phenomenal achievements of the political-military echelon that hit the enemy at key battle points.
The media spin that may have initially been released by the Prime Minister's Office was probably intended to test public opinion in Israel for the continuation of the massive campaign after his return from the nation.
So if the radical leftists Golan and Lapid (who already made a mistake with Hezbollah in a dangerous naval agreement) sided with the agreement and opposed the same spin and a 21-day pause and offered as mentioned for the same spin 3 and 7 days, it means that the majority of the people in all its shades are united in continuing the fighting and defeating Hezbollah.
Correcting the mistake of the leftists and not the radical leftists
A cease-fire is a stupid idea of the laziness that is trying as usual to stir things up.
Why didn't the USA, France and the rest of the world initiate such a move when Hezbollah attacked the north of the country, and the IDF was busy in Gaza? They could then prevent the continuation of the war. Why did they wait, and for what need? Do the USA, France and the rest of the world want to preserve Hezbollah's presence in Lebanon? To encourage continued aggression towards the State of Israel? Absolutely illogical.
Avi,
You are absolutely right, but the article deals with Israel's DPA in light of the constraints, some of which you mention.
We are at a critical crossroads for our continued existence and the weakness that Israel has shown in the last twenty years is our fault. I recommend you watch the series "Calculated Risk" on YouTube.