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Giving U.S. Diplomacy a Chance in Lebanon Could Be Critical for Legitimacy of Israeli Action Against Hizbullah

(JNS) Israel Kasnett - On Oct. 12, 2022, U.S. special envoy Amos Hochstein facilitated a maritime border and natural gas agreement between Israel and Lebanon and tweeted that he was proud to have served "as mediator/facilitator of an historic agreement to provide #Israel security & stability." Just one year later, Hizbullah joined with Hamas in attacking Israel. The U.S. believed the maritime deal would reduce tensions in the north and deter Hizbullah. Instead, the opposite has proven true. Now, Hochstein has returned to negotiate a land deal and distance Hizbullah from Israel's northern border. Unlike the maritime dispute, in which Hizbullah didn't give up anything, "Hizbullah is being asked to disarm itself and abandon its position threatening Israel in southern Lebanon - something Hizbullah has refused to do for more than 17 years," said Richard Goldberg, a senior adviser at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies. This is "despite a UN Security Council resolution demanding it, and billions of dollars sent to the Lebanese Armed Forces and UN peacekeepers to enforce that resolution." Blaise Misztal, vice president of policy at JINSA, said, "There is value in the U.S. attempting a diplomatic solution." Sooner or later, Israel "will be forced to confront the Hizbullah threat, and it will be important for the legitimacy for any Israeli operation in the north to be able to say there is [UN Resolution] 1701 that says Hizbullah should not be there and the world has failed to enforce it." "We tried diplomacy and a peaceful resolution and Hizbullah ignored it. The only option we have left to defend ourselves and our territories is to take on Hizbullah directly."
2024-01-24 00:00:00
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