Middle East, Netanyahu’s promise: “We will focus on Itan”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced on television that he had reached an agreement in the security cabinet for a ceasefire in Lebanon, which should put an end to more than 1 year of hostilities and 2 months of open war in the country of cedars. Netanyahu did not provide details on the modalities of the truce: neither the date of its entry into force nor its duration were specified. «Tonight I will present a draft ceasefire in Lebanon to the government for approval. The duration of the ceasefire depends on what happens in Lebanon,” Netanyahu said. “In full agreement with the United States, we will maintain complete freedom of military action,” he added, warning that Israel “will respond with force to any violation” of the agreement by Hezbollah. “If Hezbollah violates the agreement and tries to rearm, we will attack. If he tries to rebuild terrorist infrastructure near the border, we will attack. If he launches a rocket, if he digs a tunnel, if he moves a truck with missiles, we will attack. We will respond with force to all violations,” Netanyahu promised.

According to the Israeli Prime Minister, “A good deal is one that is enforced and we will enforce it.” Netanyahu then lashed out at numerous domestic critics who say Israel will not be able to start fighting again after a ceasefire, saying They said the same thing before the week-long hostage ceasefire in Gaza last year. «After all this, maybe it’s time to start having faith. Have faith in our determination, in our strategy, in our dedication to victory.” Netanyahu explained that there are three reasons for launching a ceasefire at this time. “The first – he said – is to focus on the Iranian threat”, while the second is to allow troops to rest and replenish their weapons supplies. “There have been delays, and long delays, in weapons shipments,” the prime minister said, without mentioning the Biden administration. added, in a clear reference to Donald Trump’s return to the White House. Finally, a third reason to accept the truce, according to Netanyahu, would be to separate the northern and southern fronts and isolate Hamas “With Hezbollah out of the picture, Hamas will be left alone in the campaign. ”, he says, and will be under greater pressure. And the prime minister commented: “This will help in the sacred mission of freeing our hostages”.