Israel’s alternative to Hezbollah could be an invasion of Lebanon – Opinion
Although I often criticize US President Joe Biden’s dealings with Israel, I sincerely hope and pray that he will succeed in ending the current war with a victory for the Jewish state in Gaza and preventing an escalation in Lebanon.
His envoy Amos Hochstein expressed confidence in Beirut on Tuesday that a diplomatic solution could be found to end the conflict.
“The conflict along the Blue Line between Israel and Hezbollah has gone on long enough,” Hochstein said. “Innocent people are dying. Property is being damaged. Families are being destroyed and the Lebanese economy continues to falter. The country is suffering for no good reason. It is in everyone’s interest to resolve the conflict quickly and diplomatically. This is both feasible and urgent.”
However, given the insane anti-Semitism of Hamas, Hezbollah and their Iranian patrons, as well as the Biden administration’s incompetence toward Israel, I am skeptical about the chances of success through diplomatic means.
Any agreement would require Hezbollah to comply with its commitments under UN Resolution 1701, completely disarm and leave the area south of the Litani River. However, no one believes that it will suddenly comply with its commitments after 18 years. This resolution ended the Second Lebanon War. Since then, Hezbollah has amassed more than 150,000 rockets and has become the dominant force in the Lebanese government.
So the only option left is the military approach.
That was also tried, you say?
Not really. Israel has fought the entire war with its hands behind its back. Because the Jewish state depends on US arms supplies, it has accepted one unjustified demand after another from Washington.
It is time to be much more aggressive in both Gaza and Lebanon. Israel should immediately bomb deep into Lebanon and invade its northern neighbor.
There are three main reasons for this: Too many Israelis have been displaced for too long. The war cannot be won without destroying our enemies. And our actions in Gaza have failed. We must learn from this immediately.
The 60,000 evacuees from the northern communities left their homes on October 7, expecting to return in a few days. Several months have passed since then – eight and a half, to be exact – and their fate has been ignored by both the Israeli authorities and the rest of the world.
Even educated news consumers in America don’t know that more rockets have been fired at Israel from Lebanon than from Gaza in this war and that 80 square kilometers (31 square miles) are in flames.
In addition, too many Israelis live in fear in areas that were not evacuated but were hit by Hezbollah rockets in this war. We have put our children’s lives in danger and it is time for this to stop.
I supported Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his right-wing coalition, but there is no point in keeping the government together if it cannot fulfill its minimal obligation to ensure the security of its citizens.
The government owes it to the people of the North to fight in a more effective way. Wars are not won by defensive or by a clean offensive strategy.
THE SECOND reason for invading Lebanon: We must fight to win.
Israel has boasted to the world that it has been able to keep its enemy’s casualties in urban warfare relatively low – at least compared to the United States. This success has been bought at the cost of our young soldiers, who were forbidden to fire and who unacceptably lost their lives.
I am all for making rules, but rules are meant to be broken when it comes to minimizing Israeli military casualties and saving the lives of our boys and girls in the war against evil.
It is time for Israel to use its full power and stop worrying about America’s reaction. Israel must determine its own policy. If it meets bipartisan US standards, great. If it doesn’t, so be it.
The idea that the Israeli military must fight a war sanctioned by the Supreme Court must be abandoned. That may work well for skirmishes or small-scale operations, but it simply does not work in a serious war on multiple fronts.
Of course, there will be many casualties on our side if we invade Lebanon, but the Israeli forces will take the necessary precautions to protect their soldiers, and the only way to win is to inflict enormous casualties on the enemy. There is a need to destroy and kill: that is what war is about.
This brings us to the final reason for the escalation of the war in Lebanon: we are losing the war in Gaza because we were overcautious. Too much effort is being spent on providing humanitarian aid to a hostile population in Gaza who are not giving us any information that could help us find our hostages, but are instead holding them captive themselves.
This was another impermissible request by the Biden administration, which is holding back a crucial shipment of 2,000-pound bombs that could be used in attacks that could successfully end the war.
When Netanyahu comes before Congress next month, he will surely declare victory in the war. I hope he will be entitled to do so by then.
At the moment, it would be absurd to say that. Eight months after the war began, rockets fired from Gaza through Tel Aviv and as far north as Ra’anana (almost 90 km) are no sign of victory.
It is a sign of madness.
After decades of quoting Albert Einstein as saying, “The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results,” it turns out he never said that.
The Ultimate Quotable Einstein, an authoritative compilation of his most memorable remarks, identified the quote as a misattribution.
Here is a quote from him: “I think and think for months and years. 99 times the conclusion is wrong. The hundredth time I am right.”
Israel is not a genius like Einstein and cannot afford to be wrong again. Now is the time to bomb and occupy Lebanon – and finally get it right.
The author is chairman of the Religious Zionists of America, chairman of the Center for Righteousness and Integrity, president of the Culture for Peace Institute, and a board member of the Jewish Agency. He was also appointed by former President Donald Trump to the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Council. The views expressed here are his own. [email protected]
“It’s not a done deal yet” – Goldsmiths’ strike is a decisive fight for higher education
“Meltdown”: One week later, WestJet is still feeling the effects of the mechanics’ strike
Travis Kelce dances to a Taylor Swift song while teeing off at the celebrity golf tournament
About The Author
