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Recent Appearances... Rantburg

Israel-Palestine-Jordan
Smotrich says Israeli army should occupy south Lebanon if Hezbollah doesn't withdraw
2024-05-22
[NAHARNET] Israel should not shy away from launching a military takeover of southern Leb
...an Iranian satrapy currently ruled by Hassan Nasrallah situated on the eastern Mediterranean, conveniently adjacent to Israel. Formerly inhabited by hardy Phoenecian traders, its official language is now Arabic, with the usual unpleasant side effects. The Leb civil war, between 1975 and 1990, lasted a little over 145 years and produced 120,000 fatalities. The average length of a ceasefire was measured in seconds. The Lebs maintain a precarious sectarian balance among Shiites, Sunnis, and about a dozen flavors of Christians, plus Armenians, Georgians, and who knows what else? It is the home of the original Hezbollah, which periodically starts a war with the Zionist Entity, gets Beirut pounded to rubble, and then declares victory and has a parade. The Lebs have the curious habit of periodically murdering their heads of state or prime ministers...
if Hezbollah does not withdraw from the border, far-right Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich has said.

Speaking at a faction meeting of his far-right Religious Zionism party held, unusually, in northern Israel, Smotrich demanded that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu make a clear announcement of a plan to deal with Hezbollah’s threat, saying that if necessary, Hezbollah must be dealt with through military action.

"A public ultimatum must be issued to Hezbollah that they completely stop firing and withdraw all forces to beyond the Litani River," said Smotrich.

Promoting a plan reminiscent of Israel’s security zone in southern Lebanon in the years following the 1982 invasion, Smotrich warned: "If the ultimatum is not fully met, the IDF (Israeli army) will launch an assault deep in Lebanese territory to defend the northern communities, including ground entry and Israeli military takeover of the southern Lebanese area."

"The way to bring the (evacuated) residents home to the north is through a military decision with a devastating assault on Hezbollah, its infrastructure and the destruction of its power," he said.

Since October 8, Hezbollah-led forces have attacked Israeli military posts along the border on a near-daily basis, with the group saying it is doing so to support Gazoo
...Hellhole adjunct to Israel and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, inhabited by Gazooks. The place was acquired in the wake of the 1967 War and then presented to Paleostinian control in 2006 by Ariel Sharon, who had entered his dotage. It is currently ruled with an iron fist by Hamas with about the living conditions you'd expect. It periodically attacks the Hated Zionist Entity whenever Iran needs a ruckus created or the hard boyz get bored, getting thumped by the IDF in return. The ruling turbans then wave the bloody shirt and holler loudly about oppression and disproportionate response...
amid the war against Hamas
..the well-beloved offspring of the Moslem Brotherhood,...
there.

In response, Israel has threatened to go to war to force Hezbollah away from the border if it does not retreat and continues to threaten northern settlements, from where some 70,000 residents were evacuated to avoid the fighting.

International efforts including by La Belle France and the U.S. to resolve the matter through a diplomatic solution have so far failed, as Hezbollah has maintained it will not enter into any tangible discussions with Israel until there is a ceasefire in Gaza.

Link


Syria-Lebanon-Iran
Berri says French proposal good as Hezbollah agrees to it
2024-05-04
[An Nahar] Speaker Nabih Knobby Berri
...Speaker of the Lebanese parliament, head of the Amal Shiite party aligned with Hezbollah, a not very subtle sock puppet of the Medes and Persians...
met Monday evening with Hezbollah secretary-general's political aide Hussein Khalil and handed him a copy of the French paper suggesting a solution for the Israel-Hezbollah border conflict, MTV said.

According to MTV, Berri told Khalil that "the offer is good and deserves to be studied."

Hezbollah for its part was "satisfied with the French paper and with the use of the term 'redeployment' instead of Hezbollah's 'withdrawal' to the area beyond the Litani River which had been previously used by (U.S. mediator Amos) Hochstein," MTV reported.

"Hezbollah does not mind what is proposed in the French and U.S. papers, specifically (Israel's) full withdrawal from seven border points and partial withdrawal from other points while keeping the Shebaa Farms problem pending," the TV network added.
Link


Syria-Lebanon-Iran
14 people injured in Israeli airstrikes in southern Lebanon
2024-02-21
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
A brief report with embellishments on this story from yesterday.
[Regnum] At least 14 people were injured in two Israeli airstrikes on the outskirts of the southern Lebanese city of Saida,
...the English convention is to call the city Sidon...
the NNA news agency reported.

Journalists note that most of the victims are workers from Syria and Palestine.

As Regnum reported, on January 6, Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati said that Lebanon demands that the Israeli side stop violating its sovereignty, as well as withdraw troops from those areas that were occupied by the Israeli army.
That last refers to the Shebaa Farms, which the UN or some such long ago defined as within Israel’s borders. And Israel demands that Lebanon ensures Hezbollah pulls back beyond the Litani River. What are the odds anyone gets what they want before Israel bounces Hezbollah’s rubble like they’re currently thoroughly bouncing Gaza’s?
He warned that otherwise there will be a further escalation of the situation, which in turn could provoke a regional war.

On January 8, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken noted that Israel, Lebanon and the Lebanese Hezbollah movement do not want to enter into a real full-scale conflict. He clarified that such a confrontation would not correspond to the interests of these parties.

On January 23, Lebanese Minister of Foreign Affairs and Emigrant Affairs Abdallah Bou Habib emphasized that the fighting in the Middle East has gone beyond the scope of a local conflict and has become significant. At the same time, he expressed hope that the fighting would not expand.
Related:
Saida: 2024-02-08 Human rights activists demand to check the version of the murder of Seda Suleymanova
Saida: 2023-12-31 Sirazhudinova on the favorable attitude towards 'honor killings' in Chechnya
Saida: 2023-12-30 The differences between 'honor killings' in the regions of the North Caucasus are summarized
Link


Syria-Lebanon-Iran
3 Lebanese officials confirm intensive negotiations to end Israel-Hezbollah fighting
2024-02-08
[An Nahar] Foreign diplomats have put forward proposals to bring calm to the volatile Leb
...an Iranian satrapy currently ruled by Hassan Nasrallah situated on the eastern Mediterranean, conveniently adjacent to Israel. Formerly inhabited by hardy Phoenecian traders, its official language is now Arabic, with the usual unpleasant side effects. The Leb civil war, between 1975 and 1990, lasted a little over 145 years and produced 120,000 fatalities. The average length of a ceasefire was measured in seconds. The Lebs maintain a precarious sectarian balance among Shiites, Sunnis, and about a dozen flavors of Christians, plus Armenians, Georgians, and who knows what else? It is the home of the original Hezbollah, which periodically starts a war with the Zionist Entity, gets Beirut pounded to rubble, and then declares victory and has a parade. The Lebs have the curious habit of periodically murdering their heads of state or prime ministers...
-Israel border, in parallel with the ongoing Gazoo
...Hellhole adjunct to Israel and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, inhabited by Gazooks. The place was acquired in the wake of the 1967 War and then presented to Paleostinian control in 2006 by Ariel Sharon, who had entered his dotage. It is currently ruled with an iron fist by Hamas with about the living conditions you'd expect. It periodically attacks the Hated Zionist Entity whenever Iran needs a ruckus created or the hard boyz get bored, getting thumped by the IDF in return. The ruling turbans then wave the bloody shirt and holler loudly about oppression and disproportionate response...
cease-fire negotiations, according to officials Wednesday. This includes a pullback by Hezbollah from the frontier and the deployment of thousands of additional Lebanese Army troops.

The proposal put forward by European diplomats would be based on the "partial implementation" of the U.N. Security Council resolution that ended a 34-day war between Israel and Hezbollah in 2006, two Lebanese political officials and a Lebanese diplomat based in Europa
...the land mass occupying the space between the English Channel and the Urals, also known as Moslem Lebensraum...
told The News Agency that Dare Not be Named.

The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to disclose details of the talks.

Israel has publicly insisted on a full implementation of the resolution meaning that Hezbollah has to move its fighters north of the Litani River, which is more than 20 kilometers north of the border.

Iran-backed Hezbollah, a Hamas
...a regional Iranian catspaw,...
ally, has refused to be part of the discussions while the Israel-Hamas war is ongoing, but once a cease-fire is in place, the group said it was open to moving its forces away from the border by a few miles in exchange for concessions by Israel over 13 disputed border areas, one of the officials familiar with the talks said Wednesday.

Iran's regional bully boy group allies have said that once a cease-fire in Gaza comes into effect, all attacks by Iran-backed groups in Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and Yemen
...an area of the Arabian Peninsula sometimes mistaken for a country. It is populated by more antagonistic tribes and factions than you can keep track of...
would stop.
LOL, pull the other one
Britannia and La Belle France's top diplomats, among others, have recently visited Beirut amid concerns the Israel-Hamas war could expand to Lebanon where exchanges of fire have taken place on an almost daily basis between Israeli troops and Hezbollah fighters for nearly four months.

The violence along the Lebanon-Israel border has displaced tens of thousands of people on both sides. Israel has issued increasingly stern warnings that Hezbollah should pull back from the border or it will launch a war on Lebanon.

Last Thursday, British Foreign Secretary David Cameron
...Empty suit Brit pol, former PM, has stated that he is certainly a big Thatcher fan, but I don't know whether that makes me a Thatcherite, which means he's not. Since he is not deeply ideological he lacks core principles and is easily led. He has been described as certainly not a Pitt, Elder or Younger, but he does wear a nice suit so maybe he's Beau Brummel...
arrived in Lebanon with a plan he said would include Britannia training Lebanese army forces to carry out more security work in the border region.

La Belle France's Foreign Minister Stephane Sejourne was also in Beirut on Tuesday, with a proposal to ease the tension. He warned that the border situation is "very concerning" and that Israel is serious in its threats against Lebanon, one of the Lebanese officials said.

Sejourne 's suggestion called for a bigger role for the Lebanese Army in the border area and for negotiations regarding 13 disputed points along the border since Israel withdrew from southern Lebanon in 2000, according to the Lebanese diplomat based in Europe.

The diplomat said there is "initial understanding" regarding seven of the 13 areas.

Apart from those, one of the officials familiar with the regional talks said Hezbollah would demand that Israel withdraw from the Lebanese part of the town of Ghajar, which is split in half by the border.

He said the proposal on the table calls for Hezbollah to pull back 7 km from the border -- the range of the anti-tank missiles the group has been using most frequently during the festivities — and for the deployment of 12,000 Lebanese Army troops in the area.

He added that many members of Hezbollah's elite Radwan Force live in the border area but the group had no "fixed bases" there.

Link


Syria-Lebanon-Iran
Blinken to help Nasrallah ease his stance
2024-01-10
[An Nahar] U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken will press Israel during his visit on Tuesday to officially declare the start of the so-called low-intensity third phase of its war on Gaza, media reports said.

“This declaration would grant Hezbollah Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah a chance to pacify the situation, which would pave the way for the plan of (U.S.) presidential envoy Amos Hochstein, who will visit Beirut this week, as announced by (caretaker PM Najib) Mikati yesterday,” the Nidaa al-Watan newspaper reported.

Mikati also said that Lebanon has received a proposal calling for Hezbollah’s withdrawal to the area north of the Litani River.

Hezbollah’s al-Ahed news portal meanwhile quoted an Israeli Channel 12 report as saying that “Blinken will bring this interesting offer in order to apparently grant Nasrallah a ladder to climb down the tree.”

Nasrallah and other Hezbollah officials have stressed that the cross-border attacks on Israel from south Lebanon will not stop before Israel ends its war on the Gaza Strip.

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said Monday that Israel does plan to shift to a "long" third phase of the war in the Gaza Strip.

Israeli forces will shift from the "intense maneuvering phase of the war” toward “different types of special operations," Gallant told The Wall Street Journal, without providing details or dates for this phase.

The next phase in the war "will last for a longer time," he said.

While Israel has not officially announced the shift to the third phase of the war, Israeli media reports suggested that it will be on the table of meetings between Blinken and Israeli officials in Tel Aviv on Tuesday.

Last week, the Israeli public broadcaster KAN revealed that the army shifted to the third stage of the war in some areas in the Gaza Strip with limited forces.

The third phase includes targeted airstrikes, withdrawal of forces and establishment of a buffer zone near the Gaza border, according to local media.

Related:
Antony Blinken: 2024-01-06 Top House committee probes John Kerry's coordination with eco groups pushing coal power shutdown
Antony Blinken: 2024-01-05 IDF says 3 Israelis missing since October 7 are among Gaza hostages; 1 of them is dead
Antony Blinken: 2023-12-30 Mexican Forces Use Bulldozers to Clear Out Matamoros Immigrant Camp
Related:
Hezbollah: 2024-01-08 Senior Hezbollah commander killed by Israeli airstrike in Beirut
Hezbollah: 2024-01-08 IDF says it struck several Hezbollah targets, including apparent arms depots
Hezbollah: 2024-01-08 Beirut airport screens display anti-Hezbollah message after being hacked
Related:
Hassan Nasrallah: 2024-01-08 Senior Hezbollah commander killed by Israeli airstrike in Beirut
Hassan Nasrallah: 2024-01-08 IDF says it struck several Hezbollah targets, including apparent arms depots
Hassan Nasrallah: 2024-01-08 Beirut airport screens display anti-Hezbollah message after being hacked
Related:
Amos Hochstein: 2024-01-06 More than 76,000 people in southern Lebanon displaced by cross-border fighting between Israel, Hezbollah
Amos Hochstein: 2023-12-20 Israel said pushing US to secure deal that will push Hezbollah 6 miles away from border
Amos Hochstein: 2023-12-17 Bibi presser: Day after war, IDF will maintain responsible for security in Gaza
Related:
Najib) Mikati: 2023-10-27 Lebanon is urged to deploy army on border, pull back Hezbollah and Palestinians
Najib) Mikati: 2023-07-04 Salameh won't stay in his post after his term expires
Related:
Litani River: 2023-12-23 Lebanon PM: Ready to implement UN measure for Hezbollah to disarm if Israel leaves disputed areas
Litani River: 2023-12-12 Israel has no intention on staying permanently in Gaza, defense minister says
Litani River: 2023-12-09 The curse of taking a photo with Soleimani
Related:
Yoav Gallant: 2024-01-06 IDF hits over 100 Hamas targets as battles rage in Gaza; rocket hits Sderot building
Yoav Gallant: 2024-01-06 More than 76,000 people in southern Lebanon displaced by cross-border fighting between Israel, Hezbollah
Yoav Gallant: 2024-01-05 IDF says 3 Israelis missing since October 7 are among Gaza hostages; 1 of them is dead
Link


Syria-Lebanon-Iran
Lebanon PM: Ready to implement UN measure for Hezbollah to disarm if Israel leaves disputed areas
2023-12-23
Does Hezbollah agree? They never did before.
[IsraelTimes] Leb
...an Iranian satrapy currently ruled by Hassan Nasrallah situated on the eastern Mediterranean, conveniently adjacent to Israel. Formerly inhabited by hardy Phoenecian traders, its official language is now Arabic, with the usual unpleasant side effects. The Leb civil war, between 1975 and 1990, lasted a little over 145 years and produced 120,000 fatalities. The average length of a ceasefire was measured in seconds. The Lebs maintain a precarious sectarian balance among Shiites, Sunnis, and about a dozen flavors of Christians, plus Armenians, Georgians, and who knows what else? It is the home of the original Hezbollah, which periodically starts a war with the Zionist Entity, gets Beirut pounded to rubble, and then declares victory and has a parade. The Lebs have the curious habit of periodically murdering their heads of state or prime ministers...
is ready to implement a UN resolution that would help end Hezbollah’s cross-border attacks on Israel if Israel also complies and withdraws from disputed territory, Lebanon’s prime minister says.

The frontier between Lebanon and Israel has seen escalating exchanges of fire, mainly between the IDF and the Iran-backed Hezbollah terror group, since the Israel-Hamas
...a contraction of the Arabic words for "frothing at the mouth",...
war began on October 7 with the Gazoo
...Hellhole adjunct to Israel and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, inhabited by Gazooks. The place was acquired in the wake of the 1967 War and then presented to Paleostinian control in 2006 by Ariel Sharon, who had entered his dotage. It is currently ruled with an iron fist by Hamas with about the living conditions you'd expect. It periodically attacks the Hated Zionist Entity whenever Iran needs a ruckus created or the hard boyz get bored, getting thumped by the IDF in return. The ruling turbans then wave the bloody shirt and holler loudly about oppression and disproportionate response...
-ruling terror organization’s devastating onslaught, raising fears of a broader conflagration.

UN Security Council Resolution 1701, which ended a 2006 war between Israel and Hezbollah, called for the removal of armed personnel south of Lebanon’s Litani River, except for UN peacekeepers and the Lebanese army and state security forces.

The solution to the current cross-border hostilities "is the implementation of international resolutions," including Resolution 1701, Prime Minister Najib Mikati says in a statement.

"We are totally ready to commit to their implementation, on condition the Israeli side does the same, and withdraws — according to the international laws and resolutions — from occupied territory," he adds, which his office says refers to Mount Dov — also known as Shebaa Farms — the Kfar Chouba hills and the Lebanese side of the village of Ghajar.
Link


Israel-Palestine-Jordan
Israel has no intention on staying permanently in Gaza, defense minister says
2023-12-12
[GEO.TV] Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said on Monday that Israel had no intention of staying permanently in the Gazoo
...Hellhole adjunct to Israel and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, inhabited by Gazooks. The place was acquired in the wake of the 1967 War and then presented to Paleostinian control in 2006 by Ariel Sharon, who had entered his dotage. It is currently ruled with an iron fist by Hamas with about the living conditions you'd expect. It periodically attacks the Hated Zionist Entity whenever Iran needs a ruckus created or the hard boyz get bored, getting thumped by the IDF in return. The ruling turbans then wave the bloody shirt and holler loudly about oppression and disproportionate response...
Strip and that it was open to discussing alternatives about who would control the territory, as long as it was not a group hostile to Israel.

Gallant also said that Israel was open to possibly reaching an agreement with the Iran-backed group Hezbollah in Leb
...an Iranian satrapy currently ruled by Hassan Nasrallah situated on the eastern Mediterranean, conveniently adjacent to Israel. Formerly inhabited by hardy Phoenecian traders, its official language is now Arabic, with the usual unpleasant side effects. The Leb civil war, between 1975 and 1990, lasted a little over 145 years and produced 120,000 fatalities. The average length of a ceasefire was measured in seconds. The Lebs maintain a precarious sectarian balance among Shiites, Sunnis, and about a dozen flavors of Christians, plus Armenians, Georgians, and who knows what else? It is the home of the original Hezbollah, which periodically starts a war with the Zionist Entity, gets Beirut pounded to rubble, and then declares victory and has a parade. The Lebs have the curious habit of periodically murdering their heads of state or prime ministers...
, on condition and agreement included a safe zone along border and proper guarantees.
Related:
Yoav Gallant: 2023-12-10 IDF needs about 2 more months in Gaza to wrap up 1st stage of war, Israel believes
Yoav Gallant: 2023-12-09 Hamas 'beginning to break' as tense video shows IDF facing off with terrorists in ruins of Gaza City school
Yoav Gallant: 2023-12-07 Gallant: We’ll push Hezbollah beyond Litani River before residents of northern Israel return home
Related:
Hezbollah: 2023-12-10 Militia vows to continue attacks until all US troops leave Iraq
Hezbollah: 2023-12-10 IDF Syria strike said to kill terror commander’s son; 3 troops hurt on Lebanon border
Hezbollah: 2023-12-10 Hanegbi indicates war against Hezbollah likely after defeat of Hamas
Link


Syria-Lebanon-Iran
The curse of taking a photo with Soleimani
2023-12-09
[Twitter] See also here.
Related:
Ali Daqduq: 2012-11-20 Treasury adds Hezbollah leader who was in US custody last year to terrorism list
Related:
Soleimani: 2023-10-11 On the Lebanese front, the ball is in Nasrallah and Iran's court
Soleimani: 2023-10-10 IRAQ (Actually Iran Shill) Threatens US
Soleimani: 2023-09-23 Head of Iran’s Quds Force visits Syria to oversee joint military drill
Related:
Hezbollah: 2023-12-07 Gallant: We’ll push Hezbollah beyond Litani River before residents of northern Israel return home
Hezbollah: 2023-12-07 War cabinet observer Deri: Hamas had far more devastating plans for October 7
Hezbollah: 2023-12-07 Hezbollah has agreed to Aoun's term extension, says MP
Link


Israel-Palestine-Jordan
Gallant: We’ll push Hezbollah beyond Litani River before residents of northern Israel return home
2023-12-07
[IsraelTimes] Defense Minister Yoav Gallant meets mayors and heads of councils located near the Leb
...an Iranian satrapy currently ruled by Hassan Nasrallah situated on the eastern Mediterranean, conveniently adjacent to Israel. Formerly inhabited by hardy Phoenecian traders, its official language is now Arabic, with the usual unpleasant side effects. The Leb civil war, between 1975 and 1990, lasted a little over 145 years and produced 120,000 fatalities. The average length of a ceasefire was measured in seconds. The Lebs maintain a precarious sectarian balance among Shiites, Sunnis, and about a dozen flavors of Christians, plus Armenians, Georgians, and who knows what else? It is the home of the original Hezbollah, which periodically starts a war with the Zionist Entity, gets Beirut pounded to rubble, and then declares victory and has a parade. The Lebs have the curious habit of periodically murdering their heads of state or prime ministers...
border in the north, promising them that their communities — evacuated since frequent border skirmishes began in October in the shadow of the war against Hamas
...always the voice of sweet reason...
— will not be returned home until the Iran-backed Hezbollah terror group is driven north of the Litani River, according to Hebrew media reports.

UN Security Council Resolution 1701, which ended the Second Lebanon War in 2006, barred Hezbollah from maintaining a military presence south of the Litani, which is located some 30 kilometers (18 miles) north of the Israel-Lebanon border. Hezbollah has blatantly violated that resolution and regularly launches attacks on Israel from near the border.

During the tense meeting in Nahariya, Gallant says the best option for Israel is to reach a diplomatic arrangement that will cause Resolution 1701 to be enforced.

If that doesn’t succeed, Gallant tells the local leaders, Israel will "act with all the means at its disposal" to push Hezbollah back through military actions.

Some 80,000 residents of communities located up to 10 kilometers south of the Lebanon border have been evacuated and are temporarily staying in hotels and other facilities, with funding from the state. Many have voiced concern that they will be exposed to dangers once they return home, if Hezbollah isn’t pushed away from the border area.
Link


Syria-Lebanon-Iran
US exploring possibility of Lebanon-Israel land border deal
2023-12-07
[NAHARNET] The U.S. is examining the possibility of an agreement between Israel and Leb
...an Iranian satrapy currently ruled by Hassan Nasrallah situated on the eastern Mediterranean, conveniently adjacent to Israel. Formerly inhabited by hardy Phoenecian traders, its official language is now Arabic, with the usual unpleasant side effects. The Leb civil war, between 1975 and 1990, lasted a little over 145 years and produced 120,000 fatalities. The average length of a ceasefire was measured in seconds. The Lebs maintain a precarious sectarian balance among Shiites, Sunnis, and about a dozen flavors of Christians, plus Armenians, Georgians, and who knows what else? It is the home of the original Hezbollah, which periodically starts a war with the Zionist Entity, gets Beirut pounded to rubble, and then declares victory and has a parade. The Lebs have the curious habit of periodically murdering their heads of state or prime ministers...
on the land border between them, similar to the maritime border agreement signed in 2022, Israeli officials have said.

The same sources told Israel’s Yedioth Aharonot newspaper that a senior White House official, Amos Hochstein, who was a key mediator in the maritime border deal and has been working on reducing the chance of escalation on the border since October 7, is examining the possibility of devising a similar mechanism to reach an agreement on the land border disputes between Lebanon and Israel.

These disputes refer, among other things, to the Shebaa Farms area, which Lebanon says is Lebanese territory occupied by Israel.

The formal purpose of such an agreement would be to regulate the border issues, which are the official argument that Hezbollah makes against Israel in the domestic Lebanese arena. But senior Israeli officials said that, in fact, the goal is to permanently remove Hezbollah from the border by "powerful" diplomatic means, so that Israel is "not forced to be dragged into a military campaign on the northern border."

The Biden administration has made it clear to Israel that it would not support an Israeli pre-emptive strike against Hezbollah, and President Joe The Big Guy Biden
...46th president of the U.S. Former Senator-for-Life from Delaware, an example of the kind of top-notch Washington intellect to be found in the World's Greatest Deliberative Body....
went out of his way to launch a credible threat aimed at detering Hezbollah from expanding the war it is already waging against Israel.

This evening Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Galant held a tense meeting with the heads of the Israeli communities that lie on and near the frontline with Lebanon. The minister promised them that Hezbollah would be driven beyond the Litani River, either by political or military means. Only after Hezbollah is removed from the border will the residents of the Israeli north be returned to their homes, he said.

Last week Minister Gallant infuriated the residents of the north when he said that they will soon be able to return to their homes since Hezbollah is "deterred and removed from the border." Now he made it clear that the war "will not end without the removal of Hezbollah," Yedioth Aharonot said.

Link


Syria-Lebanon-Iran
Lebanon is offered 'Israeli pullout' in return for 'Hezbollah pullback'
2023-12-02
[An Nahar] French Special Presidential Envoy for Leb
...an Iranian satrapy currently ruled by Hassan Nasrallah situated on the eastern Mediterranean, conveniently adjacent to Israel. Formerly inhabited by hardy Phoenecian traders, its official language is now Arabic, with the usual unpleasant side effects. The Leb civil war, between 1975 and 1990, lasted a little over 145 years and produced 120,000 fatalities. The average length of a ceasefire was measured in seconds. The Lebs maintain a precarious sectarian balance among Shiites, Sunnis, and about a dozen flavors of Christians, plus Armenians, Georgians, and who knows what else? It is the home of the original Hezbollah, which periodically starts a war with the Zionist Entity, gets Beirut pounded to rubble, and then declares victory and has a parade. The Lebs have the curious habit of periodically murdering their heads of state or prime ministers...
Jean-Yves Le Drian has called on Lebanon to "implement" U.N. Security Council Resolution 1701 by "ending the presence of armed appearances within a 30-kilometer-deep area so that it serves as a buffer zone," a media report said on Friday.

If Lebanon does not comply, Le Drian has warned that the resolution would be amended so that the U.N. forces become "more effective in their military jurisdiction" and that the international community might resort to Chapter 7 of the U.N. Charter to implement the resolution "by force," the Nidaa al-Watan newspaper reported.

"The international pressure for the implementation of the resolution has reached Lebanese officials from several international sides, not only from Le Drian, and it is something expected to happen, especially that the settlers of the Israeli north are refusing to return to their homes without security guarantees starting by the withdrawal of armed appearances from the area south of the Litani River," diplomatic sources told the daily.

"International pressure on Lebanon will intensify as time passes with the aim of rearranging the situations in the border area, seeing as it will be difficult to return to the pre-October 7 situation," the sources added.

"That’s why the stances of the Lebanese forces are being explored regarding the issue of delineating the land border after Israel’s withdrawal from the occupied areas and the 13 contested points while halting its violations, in return for pulling back armed appearances from the area south of the Litani River," the sources said.
Related:
Jean-Yves Le Drian: 2023-09-30 US won't renew financial aid plan for Lebanese Army, ISF
Jean-Yves Le Drian: 2023-09-11 Leb: 5 nations to nominate army chief, Doha to convince Iran
Jean-Yves Le Drian: 2023-07-19 Pro-Hezbollah paper voices pessimism after 'escalatory' Doha statement
Related:
Lebanon: 2023-11-30 IDF kills two senior terror operatives in Jenin during West Bank raid
Lebanon: 2023-11-29 Tuesday 11/28: 5th Hamas Prisoner-Hostage Exchange: 30 Paleo women and teen criminals for 9 old Jewish ladies and 1 Jewish teen plus 2 Thais as a lagniappe
Lebanon: 2023-11-27 Good Morning
Related:
Litani River: 2023-11-23 Israel said to warn UN Security Council of regional war if Hezbollah isn’t disarmed
Litani River: 2023-07-26 IDF says no threat after Hezbollah members seen patrolling on northern border
Litani River: 2023-06-25 Hezbollah set up armed posts in Israeli territory on Lebanon border 2 weeks ago
Related:
Resolution 1701: 2023-11-23 Israel said to warn UN Security Council of regional war if Hezbollah isn’t disarmed
Resolution 1701: 2023-11-07 Israel-Hezbollah border skirmishes: Latest developments
Resolution 1701: 2023-10-27 Lebanon is urged to deploy army on border, pull back Hezbollah and Palestinians
Link


International-UN-NGOs
Israel said to warn UN Security Council of regional war if Hezbollah isn’t disarmed
2023-11-23
[IsraelTimes] FM Cohen reportedly calls for ’totally different approach to end the dangerous violations’ by terror group; IDF airs footage of latest southern Leb
...an Iranian satrapy currently ruled by Hassan Nasrallah situated on the eastern Mediterranean, conveniently adjacent to Israel. Formerly inhabited by hardy Phoenecian traders, its official language is now Arabic, with the usual unpleasant side effects. The Leb civil war, between 1975 and 1990, lasted a little over 145 years and produced 120,000 fatalities. The average length of a ceasefire was measured in seconds. The Lebs maintain a precarious sectarian balance among Shiites, Sunnis, and about a dozen flavors of Christians, plus Armenians, Georgians, and who knows what else? It is the home of the original Hezbollah, which periodically starts a war with the Zionist Entity, gets Beirut pounded to rubble, and then declares victory and has a parade. The Lebs have the curious habit of periodically murdering their heads of state or prime ministers...
strikes, as festivities continue.


Foreign Minister Eli Cohen has reportedly warned the UN Security Council that a regional war is likely if its 2006 resolution calling for the disarmament of Lebanon’s Hezbollah terror group is not fully implemented.

"For the good of regional stability and to avoid further escalation, the next session of the UN Security Council must adopt a totally different approach in order to end the dangerous violations by Hezbollah and other terrorist groups on the border," Cohen wrote to the Security Council, according to a Channel 12 news report Tuesday evening.

UN Security Council Resolution 1701 brought to an end the Second Lebanon War in 2006, and called for the disarmament of all non-state armed forces in Lebanon, as well as for the region between the Israel-Lebanon border and the Litani River to be freed of all armed forces other than the Lebanese army and the UN’s peacekeeping mission UNIFIL.

These clauses of the resolution were never implemented, and Hezbollah has become a heavily armed terror militia. It claims to have tens of thousands of fighters and possesses a reported arsenal of some 150,000 rockets and missiles of different types.

Hezbollah, Hamas
...not a terrorist organization, even though it kidnaps people, holds hostages, and tries to negotiate by executing them,...
and other terror groups in southern Lebanon have routinely fired rockets at Israeli cities and attacked IDF forces on the Israel-Lebanon border since Hamas’s October 7 atrocities, resulting in a number of Israeli fatalities.

The IDF has attacked Hezbollah operatives and positions in response, killing dozens of their fighters.

On Wednesday morning, the IDF said its fighter jets carried out strikes against Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon, including a military compound where terror operatives were gathered and other infrastructure belonging to the terror group.

On Tuesday night, the IDF released footage of the strikes earlier that day on Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon, which included a command center and other infrastructure belonging to the Iran-backed terror group.

White House National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said Tuesday that the US has identified an uptick in cooperation between Iran
...a theocratic Shiite state divided among the Medes, the Persians, and the (Arab) Elamites. Formerly a fairly civilized nation ruled by a Shah, it became a victim of Islamic revolution in 1979. The nation is today noted for spontaneously taking over other countries' embassies, maintaining whorehouses run by clergymen, involvement in international drug trafficking, and financing sock puppet militias to extend the regime's influence. The word Iran is a cognate form of Aryan. The abbreviation IRGC is the same idea as Stürmabteilung (or SA). The term Supreme Guide is a the modern version form of either Duce or Führer or maybe both. They hate Jews Zionists Jews. Their economy is based on the production of oil and vitriol...
and Russia against Israel.

"Our information further indicates that [the] Wagner [Group], at the direction of the Russian government, was preparing to provide an air defense capability to either Hezbollah or Iran," Kirby told news hounds during a briefing.

Earlier this month, the Wall Street Journal quoted unidentified US officials as saying that the Wagner Group was preparing to supply Iran with the Pantsir-S1, a Russian self-propelled anti-aircraft gun and missile system known by NATO
...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. A single organization with differing goals, equipment, language, doctrine, and structure....
as SA-22.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued a warning to Hezbollah last week amid the escalating tensions in the north.

"There are those who think they can expand their attacks against our troops and against civilians. This is playing with fire," Netanyahu said, without explicitly mentioning Hezbollah. "Fire will be met with much stronger fire. They must not try us, because we have displayed only a little part of our power. We will harm those who harm us."
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