Netanyahu says IDF will still carry out operations against Hezbollah even if there is a ceasefire deal with Lebanon: "Nobody can guarantee it will hold"

By arseniotoledo // 2024-11-21

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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared that the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) will still operate militarily against Hezbollah even if there is a ceasefire agreement between his country and Lebanon. This statement comes as reports indicate that negotiations between the governments of Israel and Lebanon for a ceasefire deal brokered by the United States are progressing steadily. "The most important thing is not [the ceasefire deal that] will be laid on paper," Netanyahu said in a speech before the Knesset, the Israeli parliament. "Even if there is a paper [setting out an agreement], worthy though it may be, we will be required, in order to ensure our security in the north [of Israel], to systematically carry out operations – not only against Hezbollah's attacks, which could come." "Even if there is a ceasefire, nobody can guarantee it will hold. So, it's not only our reaction, a preventive reaction, a reaction in the wake of the attack, but also the capacity to prevent Hezbollah from strengthening," he added. "We will not allow Hezbollah to return to the state it was in on Oct. 6, 2023 [before the conflict]." (Related: Former Israeli PM Ehud Olmert says Netanyahu is the real enemy – not Iran or Hezbollah.) Israeli demands for a ceasefire in Lebanon include Hezbollah withdrawing all of its forces in southern Lebanon to the north of the Litani River – specifically, the Qasimiyeh portion of the river which runs from east to west about 18 miles from the Israeli-Lebanese border – and freedom of action for the IDF in the entire area south of the Qasimiyeh so that it can enforce the deal.

Lebanon and Hezbollah provisionally agreeing to a ceasefire deal

Around a week before Netanyahu's comments, the U.S. presented its brokered ceasefire proposal to Lebanese Speaker of Parliament Nabih Berri, a long-time ally of Hezbollah and was endorsed by the group to negotiate a ceasefire. On Monday, Nov. 18, Ali Hassan Khalil, an aide to Berri, gave the first indication that Hezbollah and the Lebanese government are willing to agree to the U.S. ceasefire proposal – with some added stipulations. The main goal of Hezbollah and the Lebanese government going into the ceasefire negotiations is for a return to adherence to United Nations Security Council Resolution 1701, which provided stipulations for a full cessation of hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah during the 2006 Lebanon War. Khalil said most of the points in the ceasefire proposal abide by this demand. "Lebanon presented its comments on the paper [to U.S. diplomats] in a positive atmosphere," said Khalil, noting that Berri presented Hezbollah's and the Lebanese government's "comments" on the proposal to U.S. special envoy Amos Hochstein. "All the comments that we presented affirm the precise adherence to Resolution 1701 with all its provisions," said Khalil. He added that the success of the initiative now depended on Israel agreeing to Lebanon and Hezbollah's own counter-offers. Some of the other proposals in the draft ceasefire agreement include a guarantee of a permanent ceasefire and a 60-day transition period, during which the IDF will withdraw from southern Lebanon; deployment of the Lebanese Armed Forces to the Israeli-Lebanese border; and Hezbollah withdrawing its heavy military hardware to the north of the Litani River – Israel's key demand. Watch this clip of Israeli-Palestinian Member of the Knesset Ayman Odeh being forcibly removed from the Knesset's plenum hall after calling Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a "serial killer of peace." This video is from the AllTheWorldsAStage channel on Brighteon.com.

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Lebanon and Hezbollah provisionally agreeing to a ceasefire deal

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