The Ceasefire That May or May Not Be
The UN Security Council resolution ended the Israel-Hezbollah war of 2006 and stipulates that the only armed groups in the area south of Lebanon’s Litani River should be the Lebanese army and UN peacekeeping forces (UN Interim Force in Lebanon – UNIFIL). The so-called Blue Line was set by the UN in 2000 after the end of Israel’s occupation of southern Lebanon and now serves as a de facto border between the two countries. Resolution 1701 also prohibits Israel from encroaching on Lebanese territory by land, sea or air.United Nations Resolution 1701
A view of destruction caused by the Israeli army in the southern Lebanese village of Kafr Kela, following the ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah, November 27, 2024. (David Cohen/Flash90) |
Under
this agreement Hezbollah was to disarm and turn their weapons over to
the Lebanese military, as well as blend their members with that of the
military, under Lebanese Army control. That never happened. UNIFIL was
also ordered to ensure that no build-up of weaponry was to take place,
to ensure that a cache of weapons that would be used again against
Israel did not eventuate. That too failed, because it was never
enforced, the result being that the Islamic Republic of Iran was able by
stealth to continue arming its creature Hezbollah with more
sophisticated missiles in huge numbers, stockpiled to be used at a time
when a well-planned attack was to take place with Israel confronted on
all sides.
Hezbollah
had entered the fray the very day following the infamously savage
attack on southern Israel by thousands of terrorists led by Hamas,
October 8, 2023. The Hamas attack from Gaza on Israel's border kibbutzim
took place on the 7th of October and it was still ongoing on the 8th
when Hezbollah first began sending rockets into Israel to open a
northern front in Israel, to join in the carnage and spell relief for
Hamas. This, at a time when Israel had yet to invade Gaza, necessitating
that the Israel Defense Forces deploy both in the country's south and
the north.
The
assaults from Hezbollah were at first desultory and haphazardly
intermittent, with Israel firing back in similar vein. Until the attacks
reached a momentum where it became necessary for Israel to order towns
and communities in the north to evacuate and leave for the Israeli
interior, leading to tens of thousands of Israelis displaced from their
homes.
Israel's
response to the Hezbollah assaults saw Lebanese living in Hezbollah
strongholds in southern Lebanon forced to leave as well. Israel's
pounding by air of southern Lebanon, where Shiite villages comprised the
area that held Hezbollah's headquarters and military barracks along
with weapons stockpiles resulted in the Lebanese terror group's critical
loss of commanders along with weapons depots.
Residents of northern Israeli communities who were evacuated from their homes due to the war protest against a ceasefire, in Tel Aviv, November 26, 2024. (Avshalom Sassoni/Flash90) |
Now,
a 60-day ceasefire is in effect which Israel's security cabinet agreed
to under pressure from U.S. President Joe Biden, mindful of a legacy
project as he leaves office. Israel, pressed by the Biden White House to
reach a ceasefire agreement with both Hamas and Hezbollah when its
existential goal is to destroy both terrorist groups' capacity to ever
again threaten, attack and violate the Jewish State's sovereignty and
Jewish right to life, has been constrained time and again under threat
of withholding U.S.-supplied arms and munitions to Israel in its
struggle against its enemies' intention of annihilating Israel.
The
Lebanese Armed Forces are to be deployed to the border region between
Israel and Lebanon, while Hezbollah is to withdraw for a "transition
period" which would see Israeli troops return to Israel. Hezbollah has
agreed under the ceasefire to relocate its "heavy weapons" to north of
the Litani River, 30 kilometres north of the border with Israel. No
sooner was the ceasefire implemented, than did Hezbollah betray
expectations, some of its operatives appearing in areas meant to be
off-limits.
Israel's
pledge was to deal immediately and harshly with any violations by
Hezbollah should the Lebanese army fail to neutralize any conceivable
threats that could arise. The stipulation under the agreement continues
to hamstring Israel, since it must consult over any actions taken
beforehand with Washington. Air Raid sirens have now gone silent, but
they were constantly activated across the Galilee and Haifa areas to
warn of thousands of incoming rocket and missile fire from Lebanon.
Hezbollah,
briefly relieved of the presence of Israeli ground forces and the
pounding of their strongholds has vowed to "remain active" once the
conflict comes to a formal conclusion. Lebanese lawmaker Hassan
Fadlallah, representing Hezbollah's March 8 Alliance, spoke of
rebuilding the areas destroyed by Israeli airstrikes and presumably
picking up where they had left off. Two days prior to the ceasefire,
over 240 projectiles had been fired by Hezbollah into Israel.
Over
60,000 internally displaced residents of Israel's northern boundaries
await return to their homes with the cessation, however temporary, of
Hezbollah missiles during the ceasefire. At least 76 Israelis were
killed, 31 IDF soldiers among them, along with six foreign nationals,
and 700 people wounded during the airborne assaults from Lebanon. For
the time being the IDF has withdrawn its ground forces that had
conducted "limited, localized and targeted raids" into Lebanon.
Israeli
authorities wait and remain on alert. Although Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu adhered to Joe Biden's pressure, he has made no secret of his
intention to continue battling Hezbollah until its vicious menace
recedes completely. As for the northern Shiite Lebanese and their
Hezbollah heroes, they are all celebrating their heroic 'victory' over
Israel, having 'forced the enemy' to declare a ceasefire, a situation
that they interpret as having gained the upper hand over Israel.
Israeli soldiers seen on the Israeli side of the border with Lebanon, following the ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah, November 27, 2024. (David Cohen/Flash90) |
Labels: Ceasefire, Human Invasion of Israel, IDF Assault in Gaza, Iran/Hezbollah, Israel, October 7/23
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