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Source: https://freebeacon.com/columns/america-must-side-with-israel-against-hezbollah/
America Must Side with Israel Against Hizbullah
(Washington Free Beacon) Matthew Continetti - On Sep. 26, the U.S. joined nine other countries and the EU to demand a three-week ceasefire across the Lebanon-Israel border. Israel isn't fighting Lebanon. Israel wants nothing to do with Lebanon. The IDF left there 24 years ago. Israel is attempting to restore deterrence against Hizbullah. Since the atrocities of Oct. 7, 2023, Hizbullah has fired rockets into Israel's north, turning it into a ghost zone of abandoned communities and uprooted lives. That Israelis have put up with such disruption for so long is a reminder of their fortitude and clarity of purpose. Now that Hamas is devastated, this allows Israel to turn to Hizbullah. If Hizbullah doesn't stand down, there is no way other than a ground incursion to diminish the threat. Diplomacy hasn't worked. Biden's joint statement reads as if negotiations haven't been tried. On the contrary: U.S. special envoy Amos Hochstein has been traversing the region for months. It's not Israel that has made Hochstein look like a fool. It's the terrorist psychopaths he treats as good-faith interlocutors. In Hizbullah's case, a deal has been on the table since 2006. Move your forces back. Stop trying to kill Israelis. Peace is elusive because Hizbullah's not interested. Rather than building sandcastles in the UN, President Biden could try applying to our besieged ally in the Middle East the same rhetorical and material support he bestows on Ukraine. Israel would be right to ignore him - and to do what's necessary to restore balance to the region and Israelis to their homes. The writer is director of Domestic Policy Studies at the American Enterprise Institute.