![Israel must continue to be able to deter Hezbollah, Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar stressed on Wednesday, speaking amid efforts to reach a ceasefire with Iran's Lebanese terrorist proxy. "We need to keep the freedom to act if there will be violations. And we will have to act in time, before the problem will grow," the minister told a gathering of nearly 100 foreign ambassadors in Jerusalem, the Times of Israel reported. A deal to end more than a year of fighting on the northern border must be durable, Sa'ar said, saying Jerusalem “would like to reach an agreement that will stand the test of time." He added that a ceasefire would be an "opportunity" for Lebanon to regain its sovereignty after the Israeli military severely degraded the Iranian-backed group in recent months. He called for the Lebanese Armed Forces to be strengthened and urged the international community to invest more in the economically devastated country, which is drowning in debt following years of mismanagement and corruption. Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz also emphasized on Wednesday the necessity for Jerusalem to be able to act against any Hezbollah threats that may arise after a ceasefire deal is implemented. “The condition for any political settlement in Lebanon is the preservation of the intelligence capability and the preservation of the [IDF’s] right to act and protect the citizens of Israel from Hezbollah,” Katz said. Meanwhile, U.S. special envoy Amos Hochstein remained in Beirut for a second day on Wednesday to discuss "technical details" of an American ceasefire proposal with Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, who heads the Hezbollah-allied Amal movement. President Joe Biden's point man in the Land of the Cedars announced he would travel to Israel on Wednesday night, speaking after he made "additional progress" in a second meeting with Berri. Hochstein was scheduled to meet with Israeli Minister of Strategic Affairs Ron Dermer shortly after his arrival, followed by a tête-à-tête with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu the following day. “The meeting today built on the meeting yesterday, and made additional progress,” Hochstein said. “So I will travel from here in a couple hours to Israel to try to bring this to a close if we can.” The Biden envoy added that he will work with the incoming Trump administration on ceasefire efforts, saying that he has kept the president-elect's transition team informed of progress. Hochstein described as "very productive" his meetings with Lebanese officials on Tuesday. “We have a real opportunity to end the conflict, and now is the moment to decide. We are committed to doing everything we can to work with Lebanon and Israel to end this conflict,” Hochstein said at a press conference on Tuesday. Hochstein also met on Tuesday with Lebanese caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati, and he was scheduled to meet with Lebanese Armed Forces commander Gen. Joseph Aoun. Mikati emphasized that Lebanon’s primary objectives are achieving a ceasefire and safeguarding its sovereignty. He highlighted the need to implement international resolutions and bolster the Lebanese Armed Forces in the southern part of the country. Lebanon delivered its written response to the latest U.S. proposal on Monday. According to Ali Hassan Khalil, an aide to Berri, the response included “comments” that were “presented in a positive atmosphere.” He did not provide details on the nature of the comments, saying only that they “affirm the precise adherence to [U.N. Security Council] Resolution 1701 with all its provisions,” according to Reuters. Hezbollah Secretary-General Naim Qassem said in a speech on Wednesday that the terrorist group had "read the ceasefire proposal. "We have our comments, and Nabih Berri has comments, and ours and the Lebanese government's comments are, Inshallah ['God willing'], identical," Qassem said. "We have decided not to discuss these ceasefire proposals or our comments in the media. All I will say is that Israeli is trying to obtain through negotiations what it couldn't through war." The terrorist leader vowed to “continue our efforts on the ground, whether the negotiations succeed or not. “We are confronting a savage enemy, and we will remain on the ground, no matter the cost, as we will also increase the cost for the enemy. We are facing Israeli human monsters supported by American human monsters,” threatened Qassem. Disarm and retreat Resolution 1701, which ended the 2006 Second Lebanon War, stipulated that Hezbollah must disarm and retreat north of the Litani River, but was never enforced. The Litani lies some 20 miles from the Israel-Lebanon border. Its enforcement, along with Israeli freedom of operation in Lebanon should Hezbollah violate the terms of a ceasefire agreement, are the key sticking points in the current negotiations. Netanyahu emphasized during a speech in the Knesset plenum on Monday that Israel will not allow Hezbollah to “return to the state it was in on Oct. 6, 2023. “We will be required, in order to ensure our security in the north, to systematically carry out operations—not only against Hezbollah’s attacks, which could come. Even if there is a ceasefire, nobody can guarantee it will hold. So it’s not only our reaction, a preventive reaction, a reaction in the wake of attack but also the capacity to prevent Hezbollah from strengthening,” he said. Hezbollah has launched some 16,000 rockets, missiles and drones from Lebanon at Israel since joining the war in support of Hamas on Oct. 8, 2023, a day after the Gaza-based terrorist group’s massacre in southern Israel. More than 60,000 residents of northern Israel remain internally displaced due to the ongoing rocket and drone attacks from Lebanon. Seventy-six people in northern Israel have been killed by Hezbollah cross-border rocket, missile and drone attacks since the start of the war, including 31 soldiers and six foreign citizens, according to the latest data provided by the Prime Minister’s Office, updated on Sunday. In addition, 729 people have been wounded, including 497 civilians and 232 soldiers. Of these, 29 civilians and 37 soldiers were severely injured; 63 civilians and 38 soldiers were moderately injured and 405 civilians and 157 soldiers were lightly injured. Hezbollah’s leadership has been left in tatters following a series of targeted killings by Israel, including that of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in Beirut on Sept. 27. This was preceded by Israeli sabotage of Hezbollah communication devices that killed 39 people and wounded more than 3,400 members of the terrorist group. Israel has been waging a devastating aerial campaign against Hezbollah throughout Lebanon, including its stronghold of Dahieh south of Beirut. According to Israeli estimates, the terrorist group has lost most of its arsenal to the ongoing strikes. Then-Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said in late October that Hezbollah had lost an estimated 80%-plus of its long-range rockets since the start of the war. Israel also continues to battle Hamas terrorists in Gaza. The terrorist group still holds 101 hostages in the Strip, 97 of whom were kidnapped on Oct. 7. Many of the captives are believed to be dead. Brazil summit Meanwhile, G20 leaders gathered in Rio de Janeiro for a summit put out a joint statement on Monday calling for “comprehensive” ceasefires in Gaza and Lebanon. The leaders of the world’s biggest economies called for U.S. proposals to end fighting in Gaza and free the hostages, and one for Lebanon “that enables citizens to return safely to their homes on both sides of the Blue Line.” The 13-point U.S. proposal presented to Lebanese officials on Nov. 14 includes a 60-day truce, during which Lebanon would redeploy its troops along the border. The proposal also calls for Moscow to prevent Hezbollah from resupplying itself via Syrian land routes. Hezbollah would retreat north of the Litani River, with the border area then being under control of the Lebanese Armed Forces, overseen by the United States and Britain. Israeli officials are emphasizing, however, that the Israel Defense Forces must retain freedom of operation in Lebanon to thwart attempts by Hezbollah to violate the agreement and rearm and reestablish itself. A senior Israeli diplomatic official told Israel Hayom on Saturday that the IDF will retain operational freedom to respond to any security threats from across the northern border, regardless of any diplomatic arrangements. However, a source close to Hezbollah told The Washington Post that the group’s “condition for progress remains clear: Israel must be prohibited from conducting operations within Lebanese territory.” Berri emphasized at the time that any ceasefire agreement must not include the ability for Israel to attack by land, sea or air, Channel 12 reported. “Otherwise, what’s the purpose of an agreement?” he remarked. Another sticking point is Lebanon’s objection to the United Kingdom and Germany monitoring the implementation of U.N. Resolution 1701. Beirut reportedly favors the United States and France. If the ceasefire efforts fail, there are plans in the works to expand ground operations in Lebanon, an Israeli military official told the Post. Israel’s Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer discussed the proposal with U.S. President-elect Donald Trump during a visit to his Florida estate earlier this month, as well as with senior Biden administration officials in Washington. Dermer also traveled to Russia to discuss the ceasefire proposal. Tehran is telling its Lebanese terrorist proxy Hezbollah that it supports ending the war against Israel, The New York Times reported over the weekend. Ali Larijani, senior adviser to Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, met with senior Lebanese officials in Beirut on Nov. 15 to discuss the matter. Two Iranians affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps told the Times that Larijani conveyed messages to Hezbollah from Khamenei that he supported the end of the war and that the regime would assist with rebuilding the terrorist group’s forces and recovering from the war.](https://jewishwebsite.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Gideon-Saar-1320x880-2-218x150.jpg "Sa’ar: Israel must be free to act against Hezbollah truce violations")
“We are the sword of Mohammed Deif,” declared Roda Abu Agamiya, referring to Hamas’s shadowy terror chief in the Gaza Strip.
Abu Agamiya is one of more than 200 Palestinian terrorists Israel has released over the last week as part of the ceasefire deal with Hamas, and who have been feted upon their return to Judea, Samaria and eastern Jerusalem.
Videos of Palestinians celebrating with the freed terrorists have gone viral, despite Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir’s instruction to police to employ “an iron fist” to prevent such glorification.
In one video, terrorists are paraded around on supporters’ shoulders as a crowd waves PLO flags.
Another example is the joyous welcome in Bethlehem for Fatima Shaheen, who stabbed 36-year-old Gush Etzion resident and father of three Noam Anisfeld on April 17, 2023.
“I’m not afraid. This isn’t about me. Releasing murderers and those convicted of attempted murder is a terrible thing, morally and for public safety,” Anisfeld, who suffered knife wounds to his abdomen, told JNS.
“Perhaps we had to [release them] to save innocent hostages, but this must reinforce our commitment to destroy the terror organizations completely,” he added.
Israa Jaabis, who had been in prison since 2015 after being convicted of detonating a gas cylinder that wounded an Israeli police officer, was feted as a hero upon her release on Saturday, with a halo of flowers placed on her head.
Jaabis’s case achieved some notoriety when she filed a request with the Israel Prison Service for state-funded reconstruction surgery to repair the severe burns the explosion left on her face and hands. Her request was denied.
Israa Jaabis, a Palestinian prisoner freed by Israel under a hostage deal with Hamas, reunited with her family on Sunday. Jaabis suffered serious facial burns during an explosion in her car, which Israel said was a murder attempt in 2015. Jaabis and her family denied the charge. pic.twitter.com/sCmqKkYX5C
— CBS News (@CBSNews) November 27, 2023
The Almagor Terror Victims Association previously released a study that found that 80% of Palestinian terrorists released in political deals resumed their violent activities.
Lt. Col. (res.) Meir Indor, chairman of the organization, has long fought against the practice. In 1985, he opposed the so-called Jibril deal, in which 1,150 terrorists were freed in exchange for three IDF soldiers kidnapped during the First Lebanon War.
“Whoever tries to hurt innocent people should be executed, or at least imprisoned for a lifetime,” Indor told JNS. “Through our petition [to block the latest deal], we wanted to show the enemy that the spirit of the Jewish nation is not weak,” he added.
The truce arrangement came into effect on Nov. 24, with Israel agreeing, in addition to a cessation of hostilities, to release 150 Palestinian terrorists in exchange for 50 of the estimated 240 Israelis and foreign nationals kidnapped during Hamas’s Oct. 7 massacre of 1,200 people in northwestern Negev. The deal was subsequently extended on two occasions.
“I ask myself who is going to pay for this deal. There is no question that those who were massacred on Oct. 7 paid for the Shalit deal,” said Indor. In 2011, Israel freed 1,027 Palestinian terrorists in exchange for Hamas captive soldier Gilad Shalit.
“While some voices in the Palestinian camp do call for peace and for two neighboring separate states living in peace, much of the Palestinian public consider terrorists, who have been charged and convicted by Israel, to be heroes fighting on behalf of their nation,” Avi Melamed, a former Israeli intelligence official, told JNS.
Ahed Tamimi, 22, who became internationally known for confronting IDF soldiers when she was a teenager, was arrested on Nov. 6 for incitement to terror. She was then released on Wednesday.
Tamimi had published a post on Instagram a week before her arrest saying that Palestinians would “slaughter” the Jews of Judea and Samaria.
“Our message to the settlers, we are waiting for you in all the cities of the West Bank. From Hebron to Jenin, we will slaughter you, and you will say that what Hitler did to you is a joke,” Tamimi’s Instagram post said.
“We will drink your blood and eat your skull. Come on, we’re waiting for you,” the post continued.
עוד אויבת במעצר: במסגרת פעילות צה"ל הלילה למעצר מבוקשים החשודים בפעילויות טרור והסתה בחטיבת אפרים, נעצרה עאהד תמימי בנבי סלאח, בגין הסתה לאלימות וקריאה לביצוע פעולות טרור.
תמימי הועברה להמשך חקירת כוחות הביטחון. pic.twitter.com/jDOM1Ty8Ow— חנן גרינווד (@hanan_green) November 6, 2023
Another Tamimi, Aya, who was released on Tuesday, had been arrested for posting photos of Oct. 7 victims’ funerals with the caption: “May God intensify your sadness, divide your people, and increase your pain, such a happy sight. Death to Israel. Death to the unjust.”
According to Dan Diker, president of Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs (JCPA), Israel has been “taken hostage by Hamas, which is dictating the terms of the agreement and the rhythm of the exchange as part of its deception strategy.
“A Nazi-like ISIS-like jihadi death cult has increased its legitimacy in the West and created what’s perceived as a balance of legitimacy between two warring sides,” Diker told JNS.
Lt. Col. (res.) Maurice Hirsch, who directs the JCPA’s Initiative for Palestinian Authority Accountability and Reform, noted that the freed Palestinian terrorists are not under movement restrictions.
“These terrorists are not rehabilitated,” he told JNS. “To them, their path is justified and violence restores their freedom. As such, their return to terrorism is practically immediate.
“From my experience with military prosecution,” continued Hirsch, “well over half of the terrorists released as part of a deal returned to terrorism, including those released from life sentences.”
Yahya Sinwar, the current chief of Hamas in Gaza and believed to be the mastermind behind the Oct. 7 terror attacks, was released as part of the 2011 Shalit deal.