![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")
Despite mounting pressure from coalition members, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has announced no plan for what comes next in the Gaza Strip once Hamas is defeated—and seemingly feels no need to do so, either.
According to a senior government official, “there is public pressure in bringing home the hostages, destroying Hamas … but the public is not pushing for the Palestinian Authority to take over Gaza.”
The official spoke to JNS after Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant in a video message aired Wednesday called on Netanyahu to reveal what his plan for post-Hamas Gaza is—and to rule out the option of the territory being administered by Israel.
“Since October, I have been raising this issue consistently in the Cabinet and have received no response. The end of the military campaign must come together with political action. The ‘day after Hamas’ will only be achieved with Palestinian entities taking control of Gaza, accompanied by international actors,” said Gallant.
“Indecision is, in essence, a decision,” he added.
“This leads down a dangerous path, which promotes the idea of Israeli military and civilian governance in Gaza. This is a negative and dangerous option for the State of Israel—strategically, militarily and from a security standpoint. … The price paid would be bloodshed and victims, as well as a heavy economic price,” he said.
“I must reiterate: I will not agree to the establishment of Israeli military rule in Gaza. Israel must not establish civilian rule in Gaza,” he continued.
He called on the prime minister to “make a decision and declare that Israel will not establish civilian control over the Gaza Strip, that Israel will not establish military governance in the Gaza Strip, and that a governing alternative to Hamas in the Gaza Strip will be raised immediately.”
While Gallant’s speech may have been well received in Washington, D.C., Netanyahu, members of the coalition and some of those in Gallant’s own party immediately pushed back.
“I am not willing to exchange Hamastan for Fatahstan,” said Netanyahu in a video statement, referring to Palestinian Authority chief Mahmoud Abbas’s ruling Fatah faction. The premier has made such statements throughout the war, citing polling that shows that an overwhelming majority of Palestinians both in Gaza and Judea and Samaria support Hamas’s Oct. 7 massacre. He has also pointed to the P.A.’s refusal to condemn the attack.
Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich chimed in as well, telling Ynet, “Minister Gallant today announced his support for the establishment of a Palestinian terrorist state as a reward for Hamas for the most horrific massacre of the Jewish people since the Holocaust.”
Smotrich called on Netanyahu to give Gallant an ultimatum: either implement government policy or resign.
Both Smotrich and Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir have called for full Israeli civilian and military control of Gaza, the re-establishment of Israeli settlements there and for encouraging the “voluntary emigration” of Gaza residents.
The debate over what comes next
On Independence Day this week, tens of thousands of Israelis marched in Sderot calling for the resettlement of Gaza. It was put together by the Nachala Settlement Movement, along with other Zionist groups, including the Sovereignty Movement and Torat Lehima.
Addressing the group, Ben-Gvir said: “Two things must be done: One, return to Gaza now, return home, return to our holy land. And two: encouraging emigration. To encourage the voluntary departure of the residents of Gaza. It’s moral, it’s rational, it’s right, it’s the truth. This is the Torah, and this is the only way—yes, it is also humanitarian.”
The United States government, however, is starkly opposed to this idea. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in November during the G7 summit that, “It’s … clear that Israel cannot occupy Gaza,” though he acknowledged that “the reality is that there may be a need for some transition period at the end of the conflict.”
At a press conference in Kyiv on Wednesday, Blinken said, “We do not support and will not support an Israeli occupation. We also, of course, do not support Hamas governance in Gaza.”
The United States wants a situation involving a coalition of Arab states administering post-Hamas Gaza, leading toward a two-state solution. The second part of this plan has been outright rejected by Israel, with Netanyahu saying he will not support the establishment of a Palestinian state “as a reward for terror.”
For their part, the Arab states have flatly rejected the idea of joining a coalition to administer Gaza without a clear path to Palestinian statehood.
United Arab Emirates Prime Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan said on May 11 that the UAE “refuses to be involved in any plan aimed at providing cover for the Israeli presence in the Gaza Strip.”
Al Nahyan, who is also the UAE’s foreign minister, stressed that “when a Palestinian government is formed which meets the hopes and aspirations of the brotherly Palestinian people, and is distinguished by integrity, competence and independence, the UAE will be fully prepared to provide all forms of support to that government.”
An official close to the Saudi palace also told Israel’s Channel 12 News that Riyadh will likewise refuse to help rule Gaza.
“We are with the UAE on this. We demand an end to the occupation of Gaza and the West Bank, and to find a permanent political solution for the Palestinian people to end this prolonged conflict,” the source stated.
Egypt, which shares a border with Gaza, is also not interested.
As for Netanyahu, on multiple occasions during the war, he has seemingly ruled out any Israeli civilian presence in Gaza, though he has said that the Israeli military must retain freedom of operation in the territory for an unspecified period.
In an interview with CNBC on Wednesday, for example, he said, “What I’d like to see is a non-Hamas civilian administration there [in Gaza] with an Israeli military responsibility, overall military responsibility. That’s the only thing that would work.”
According to professor Gideon Rahat, a political scientist at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and a Senior Fellow at the Israel Democracy Institute, Netanyahu’s refusal to lay out a firm plan is part of his “strategy of playing for time.”
“It’s not about making decisions, it’s delaying decisions,” he said.
He told JNS Netanyahu is waiting for a solution to fall into his hands, versus actively seeking one.
“It’s important to remember that while buying time, hostages are dying and people in the north are living in small hotel rooms instead of their homes. There’s a price people are paying for this strategy,” he said.
Netanyahu is faced with a difficult task, with competing forces from every side pushing for what they believe to be the best path forward in Gaza, each idea seemingly conflicting with the next.