Defense Minister Yoav Gallant told US Envoy Amos Hochstein on Thursday that the time for a diplomatic solution to moving Hezbollah’s forces in southern Lebanon away from the border with Israel is running out.
“The window of time for a diplomatic solution is short. We are obligated to return the northern residents to their homes upon the changing of the security situation on the border,” said Gallant.
The defense minister has said repeatedly in recent weeks that absent a deal with Hezbollah to withdraw its Radwan forces according to UN Resolution 1701, which mostly involves being north of the Litani River, Israel would need to escalate its attacks on the terror group, even if that led to a broader war.
Displaced Israelis and Hezbollah rockets
Over 80,000 Israelis have been evacuated from their northern homes since October when Hezbollah started attacking with rockets and anti-tank missiles.
In the last three to four weeks, the IDF has started to attack Hezbollah more aggressively and broadly and succeeded in getting more than half of the organization’s forces to withdraw to the Litani River.
However, significant Hezbollah forces remain near the border and the terror group has continued to fire missiles and rockets at Israel.
Gallant on Thursday specified the conditions that Israel could live with for a diplomatic deal with Hezbollah.
Short of a significant change in the security situation, most northern residents have said they would refuse to return to the border, something which would threaten the ethos of Zionism regarding Jews being able to live anywhere within Israel’s sovereign territory, including on hostile borders.
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