A key Israel Defense Forces leader said what most Israelis and their Arab allies believe, if not for Hezbollah, Lebanon would be at peace with Israel and a signatory to the Abraham accords.
During a discussion about the threats to the Israeli gas rigs, Major General Aharon Haliva, the head of IDF Intelligence, warned Hezbollah: "Israel's power is very great. Nasrallah is a serious man, he knows what I'm talking about." He also referred to Lebanon itself, clearly outlining that the situation there affects Israelis and Jews in general who cannot help them due to the hold Hezbollah has on the country: "Life there is not easy - and improving the situation is in Israel's interest."
Major General Haliva assessed at the annual conference of the Institute for Counter-Terrorism Policy (ICT) at Reichman University, that Nasrallah is not simply a "patron" or "stooge" of Iran, but rather a full partner in decision-making. He further warned against the deterioration of the economic situation in Lebanon, and joined the voices of those calling To strengthen the Palestinian Authority: "This is an Israeli security interest."
Lebanon 🇱🇧 Israel 🇮🇱 peace? It would be possible if not for #Iran’s malign terrorist influence through Hezbollahhttps://t.co/y8WmN5pYVG
— Adam Milstein (@AdamMilstein) September 13, 2022
At the beginning of the conversation, the head intel referred to the threat from Hezbollah, saying: "Hezbollah is an organization that wears three hats - the shield of the Shia community, an Iranian emissary financed and maintained by it, and the 'defender of Lebanon', which took the Lebanese people captive. I am convinced that Lebanon would have been part of the Abraham Accords if not for Hezbollah.”
“Within the regional development, Nasrallah calculates his calculations, with a deep memory of what happened in the Second Lebanon War. Nasrallah is highly regarded in Iran, and my working assumption and that of the IDF is that he is not a patron, but a partner in making decisions vis-à-vis the Iranians. There is a likelihood that in certain future events Hezbollah and Nasrallah as its leader will join Iran's cycle of violence."
JUST IN: The head of Military Intelligence, Maj. Gen. Aharon Haliva claimed that if it weren't for the Iran-backed #Hezbollah terror group keeping Lebanon "hostage," Beirut would have normalized relations with Jerusalem. pic.twitter.com/r3A9GVspTa
— BNN Israel (@BNNNewsIL) September 13, 2022
Regarding the specific threats to the gas rigs, Haliva said that "We raised the potential for escalation in the northern arena to the decision makers in this context. I hope Nasrallah does not underestimate the Israeli response if he decides to escalate, for his sake. I remind you that we shot down the drones that Nasrallah launched at Karish, and there was no response of Hezbollah in the matter. Israeli power is very great, and I am sure that Hezbollah understands this and does not want to try us. Nasrallah is a serious man and knows what I'm talking about."
Haliva also referred to the situation in the southern part of Israel and peace in the Gaza Strip: "I said publicly, being the head of the Operations Division during the 2021 operation, that I foresee five years of peace in the southern arena. Despite the 2022 operation, I still stand by this statement. In Gaza, alongside the use of force by Hamas, we see that the processes of economic stabilization and bringing in workers bring the potential for long years of peace.
A Lebanon-based nerve center provides Hamas with aerial intelligence derived by Hezbollah and the IRGC, perhaps through reconnaissance drones dispatched from Lebanon and Syria, @JSchanzer writes. https://t.co/3qGrYKHc88
— Foreign Policy (@ForeignPolicy) September 13, 2022
“We are not in a single arena against Hamas - we have other players like the Islamic Jihad, against whom Hamas should have taken significant actions. If Hamas is the sovereign in Gaza, they should have prevented The Jihad from its recent attacks."
