Washington and its allies are pressuring Hezbollah to withdraw from the Lebanon-Israel border to reduce tensions. An Israeli Defense Forces official recently explained to Newsweek that Tel Aviv is preparing for war in Lebanon but does not want to conduct those operations at this time.
According to the Financial Times, “The US, the UK, and France are exploring ways to convince Hezbollah to pull back from the Lebanon-Israel border in a diplomatic push to prevent a full-blown conflict erupting between the militant group and Israel.”
A Western diplomat said, “You need to get Israel and Hezbollah to stop fighting first, and you need to get Hezbollah to acquiesce.”
Hezbollah and the IDF have traded fire regularly since October 7. Hezbollah’s leader says the group’s goal is to prevent Israel from unleashing its full military strength on Palestinians. Israel has killed civilians, journalists, and politicians in southern Lebanon. Israeli forces have also used American-provided white phosphorus against its neighbor to the north. The US has ratified protocol 3 of the international treaty which bans use of such incendiaries, but Israel has not.
The Western nations are presenting their proposal for implementing UN Resolution 1701. 1701 calls for Hezbollah to withdraw from a large region of southern Lebanon between the border and the Litani River. A Lebanese official told FT that 1701 could be a framework for an agreement, but there are several hurdles to overcome.
“What the Israelis are trying to do is use their war in Gaza as a lever to try to pre-empt us or pressure us — it won’t work,” the Lebanese official said. “So what we are saying is let’s think constructively, put 1701 on the table and see who is violating it, and let’s try and reinvigorate its implementation.” Beirut explains Israel violates 1701 by using Lebanese air space, often to attack Syria.
Another issue for Beirut is the relative weakness of the Lebanese Army compared to Hezbollah.
An IDF official signaled that Israel is preparing for war with Hezbollah. The official told Newsweek. “We will not return to the situation that was on the 6th of October in the north. It means we will not allow our civilians neither in the Gaza envelope nor on the Lebanese border to be under this threat.” The military official continues, “We are prepared for that. We are on alert for that. We have the people, the personnel that is exactly ready for that, but we don’t want to do that yet.”
This article was originally featured at Antiwar.com and is republished with permission.
