Israel and the “Lebanon Truce”: The “Ministers’ Revolt” Undermines the “Biden-Macron” Proposal
The proposal for a temporary ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah has caused confusion in Israel following widespread criticism from ministers in Benjamin Netanyahu’s government.
The Israeli Prime Minister, who was en route to New York for the United Nations General Assembly meetings, was compelled to deny reports that he had approved the proposal or instructed the army to ease its attacks on Lebanon.
Netanyahu’s office stated in a press release in response to reports published by Israeli news channel 12: “The news regarding the ceasefire is incorrect; this is an American-French proposal, and the Prime Minister has not responded to it.”
It added, “The news about the directive to calm the fighting in the north is also false; the Prime Minister has instructed the Israeli army to continue fighting with full force, according to the plans presented to him.”
Netanyahu’s office also indicated that “the fighting in Gaza will continue until all war objectives are achieved.”
Shortly after the release of this statement, the Israeli army announced, on Thursday afternoon, the start of a new wave of attacks on Hezbollah targets in Lebanon.
These developments came after Israeli ministers made strong statements regarding the acceptance of an American-French offer for a temporary ceasefire with Hezbollah, describing it as “undermining achievements.”
These ministers called for ongoing attacks and for them to be expanded into a ground operation without pause in Lebanon.
“Ministers’ Revolt”
Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich wrote on the platform “X”: “The battle in the north must end with one scenario: crushing Hezbollah and depriving it of the ability to harm the residents of the north.”
He continued, “The enemy should not be given time to recover from the heavy blows it has received and to reorganize for a continued war after 21 days.”
He stated, “Hezbollah’s surrender or war is the only way we will restore residents and security to the north and the country.”
Similarly, Settlement Minister Orit Strook said, “There is no moral mandate for a ceasefire. Not for 21 days, not for 21 hours.”
She added on the platform “X”: “Hezbollah has turned Lebanon into a powder keg; the residents of the north (of Israel) have become hostages and exiles in their own land,” continuing, “Do not repeat the mistakes of the past… do not stop.”
Ministers from the “Likud” party, led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, also expressed their opposition to the proposal for a temporary ceasefire in Lebanon, presented by France and the United States.
Culture and Sports Minister Miki Zohar stated, “A ceasefire without any tangible returns from Hezbollah is a grave mistake that threatens the major security achievements Israel has made in recent days.”
He added on the platform “X”: “I truly hope that the reports are not true, and we must continue with all our might until a clear decision is made in the north.”
Likud’s Minister of Diaspora Affairs Amichai Chikli went so far as to demand a ground operation.
He clarified in a post on the platform “X”: “It is impossible to complete the campaign in the north without ground movement aimed at establishing a buffer zone and redeploying our forces to eliminate the threat.”
Division in the Opposition
On the other hand, opposition leader and head of the “Yesh Atid” party, Yair Lapid, expressed his conditional support for the agreement.
Lapid stated on the platform “X”: “The State of Israel must announce this morning that it accepts the proposal from Joe Biden and Emmanuel Macron for a ceasefire, but for only 7 days so as not to allow Hezbollah to restore its command and control systems,” adding, “We will not accept any proposal that does not include the removal of Hezbollah from our northern borders.”
Lapid continued: “Any proposal put forward must allow the residents of the north to return home immediately and lead to the resumption of negotiations on the hostage agreement (with Hamas). And any violation—even minor—of the ceasefire will trigger a new attack from Israel with all its force in all regions of Lebanon.”
For his part, opposition leader of the “National Right” party, Gideon Sa’ar, considered the reduction of Israeli attacks to be “a mistake.”
He stated on the platform “X”: “Reducing airstrikes in Lebanon and preventing attacks aimed at undermining Hezbollah’s capabilities in the Beirut region is a mistake.”
