Things Might Heat Up There Soon

WAR? Benjamin Netanyahu's government to meet to decide Lebanon's fate

In the face of pressure to withdraw entirely from Lebanon by Sunday and fears that Hezbollah is being allowed to rebuild in southern Lebanon, the government will meet tonight to discuss the ceasefire.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu? (Photo: Miriam Alster/Flash90)

The government is meeting tonight (Thursday) to discuss its policy regarding Lebanon and the ceasefire, whose 60-day deadline for IDF withdrawal ends this Sunday, according to Amichai Stein of i24 news.

Earlier today, Hezbollah published a long manifesto warning against any delay in the IDF's withdrawal from southern Lebanon past the 60-day deadline "will not be accepted."

Hezbollah said that "the Zionist enemy's 60-day period to withdraw from Lebanese territory is about to end - which requires the complete fulfillment of the agreement.

"We call on everyone, including the political leadership in Lebanon and via pressure on the states sponsoring the agreement - to progress in the last days and implement the full withdrawal and the deployment of the Lebanese Army, to the last centimeter."

They also said that "any violation of the 60 is considered a blatant violation of Lebanese sovereignty - we will follow developments."

Although Hezbollah's statement did not contain any explicit threat to renew the war or fire on Israel, it aligns with the Lebanese government's demand from the President on down for the IDF to completely withdraw from Lebanese soil by this Sunday.

Meanwhile, the IDF is increasingly pessimistic that southern Lebanon will in fact be demilitarized without its active involvement.

IDF Northern Command Commander Major General Ori Gordin gave a pessimistic briefing at the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, where he described "hundreds" of violations of the ceasefire by armed Hezbollah terrorists seeking to manufacture or deploy weapons in the ostensibly "demilitarized" southern Lebanon.

He also said that the Lebanese Army was not enforcing demilitarization as thoroughly as it should, and that units with Shiite commanders and soldiers were even assisting the terrorist group.

Israel is reportedly seeking a 30-day extension of the ceasefire to ensure more of Hezbollah's weapons and infrastructure has been destroyed in southern Lebanon.

However, President Donald Trump and his administration is reportedly opposed to any such delay for fear of the ceasefire collapsing.

It is all this which the government will discuss tonight.


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