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Israel-Hezbollah Ceasefire Would Be ‘Devastating’ Without Israeli Freedom to Enforce Terms: Defense Expert
Israeli tanks are being moved, amid cross-border hostilities between Hezbollah and Israel, in the Golan Heights, Sept. 22, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Jim Urquhart
The Biden administration’s Mideast envoy arrived in Israel on Wednesday to advance ceasefire negotiations between Israel and the Lebanese terrorist group Hezbollah — a deal that one defense expert said could be “devastating” for Israel.
Amos Hochstein, who arrived in Jerusalem after meetings in Beirut earlier in the day, was scheduled to meet with Israel’s Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer to brief him on Lebanon’s response to the ceasefire proposal, according to a report in Axios. Hochstein was also due to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz on Thursday, the report said.
After a two-hour meeting a day earlier with Nabih Berri, the Hezbollah-aligned Lebanese parliamentary speaker who is leading the Iran-backed terrorist group’s mediation efforts, Hochstein said the proposal was “a real opportunity to bring this conflict to an end.”
Hochstein said his first conversation with Berri was “very constructive and very helpful,” and that “additional progress” was made in a follow-up meeting. He did not stipulate the sticking points of the deal.
But retired Israeli Brig. Gen. Amir Avivi, who leads the Israel Defense and Security Forum, a group of former military commanders, warned that the proposed deal would have disastrous consequences for Israel if it failed to rein in Iran.
“Any agreement with Lebanon will have to include Iran’s full exit from the country, total de-arming of Hezbollah, and the entry of Lebanon into the brotherhood of the moderate Sunni states with Israel,” Aviv told The Algemeiner.
Hochstein’s proposal, based on enforcing UN Security Council Resolution 1701, calls for Hezbollah’s withdrawal to north of the Litani River and the disarmament of its forces in southern Lebanon. The buffer zone would be under the jurisdiction of the Lebanese army and UN peacekeeping forces.
For nearly two decades, the UN resolution, which brought an end to the 2006 Second Lebanon War, was largely ignored by Hezbollah, which has continued to wield significant political and military influence in Lebanon. The group amassed a vast arsenal of missiles and constructed an extensive network of tunnels along the Israeli border in violation of the agreement.
As part of the ceasefire deal, Israel has insisted on retaining the right to conduct military operations against Hezbollah if the group attempts to rearm or rebuild its infrastructure — a stipulation that has met resistance from Lebanese officials, who argue it infringes on national sovereignty.
“We will not compromise on our military freedom of action in Lebanon if the agreement is violated. This is a red line. If Lebanon refuses to back down, we will continue to strike and operate deep within Lebanese territory until it complies,” a senior Israeli official was quoted by the Hebrew-language Makor Rishon newspaper as saying.
The anonymous official also said that Lebanon has rejected Israel’s demand for an enhanced monitoring force for the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), which Israel argued has failed to prevent Hezbollah’s buildup of power in recent years.
Israeli officials were also quoted by Israel’s Channel 12 as saying that a deal could be signed “within a week.”
A senior US official told the news channel: “Significant progress has been made; it is very close. Now is the time to make decisions.”
Hezbollah’s Secretary-General, Naim Qassem, confirmed that the organization had reviewed the ceasefire proposal but emphasized that the decision to cease hostilities now rests with Israel. He also stressed that the terrorist group possesses the capability to sustain its current operational pace over an extended period unless Israel agrees to the proposed terms.
“We are advancing on two fronts: the battlefield and the negotiations. We do not pause our operations on the ground while waiting for the talks to conclude,” Qassem said in a televised address. Behind him was a picture of his slain predecessor, Hassan Nasrallah, who Israel killed in a targeted airstrike in September.
“While the losses we’ve endured are painful, we have resilient leaders with remarkable courage, and we’ve managed to recover and move forward despite the setbacks,” he added.
Avivi stressed that a deal that does not allow Israel the freedom of action necessary to enforce its terms inside Lebanon would threaten Israeli national security and throw away a major opportunity.
“Any deal that doesn’t include Israel’s ability to impose it and prevent any future build up of Hezbollah will be devastating to Israel and will keep Hezbollah and Iranian control over Lebanon,” Avivi said. He added that such an agreement would also result in surrendering a “unique, historical opportunity to liberate Lebanon from the Shiite axis.”
Iran, which is ruled by a Shiite Muslim theocracy, has created what its supporters have dubbed an “axis of resistance” across the Middle East, aimed at destroying Israel and combating US and broader Western influence. For decades, Hezbollah has been the regime’s most powerful proxy.
The post Israel-Hezbollah Ceasefire Would Be ‘Devastating’ Without Israeli Freedom to Enforce Terms: Defense Expert first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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US House Members Ask Marco Rubio to Bar Turkey From Rejoining F-35 Program
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio attends a cabinet meeting at the White House in Washington, DC, US, April 10, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Nathan Howard
A bipartisan coalition of more than 40 US lawmakers is pressing Secretary of State Marco Rubio to prevent Turkey from rejoining the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program, citing ongoing national security concerns and violations of US law.
Members of Congress on Thursday warned that lifting existing sanctions or readmitting Turkey to the US F-35 fifth-generation fighter program would “jeopardize the integrity of F-35 systems” and risk exposing sensitive US military technology to Russia. The letter pointed to Ankara’s 2017 purchase of the Russian S-400 surface-to-air missile system, despite repeated US warnings, as the central reason Turkey was expelled from the multibillion-dollar fighter jet program in 2019.
“The S-400 poses a direct threat to US aircraft, including the F-16 and F-35,” the lawmakers wrote. “If operated alongside these platforms, it risks exposing sensitive military technology to Russian intelligence.”
The group of signatories, spanning both parties, stressed that Turkey still possesses the Russian weapons systems and has shown “no willingness to comply with US law.” They urged Rubio and the Trump administration to uphold the Countering American Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA) and maintain Ankara’s exclusion from the F-35 program until the S-400s are fully removed.
The letter comes after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan claimed during a NATO summit in June that Ankara and Washington have begun discussing Turkey’s readmission into the program.
Lawmakers argued that reversing course now would undermine both US credibility and allied confidence in American defense commitments. They also warned it could disrupt development of the next-generation fighter jet announced by the administration earlier this year.
“This is not a partisan issue,” the letter emphasized. “We must continue to hold allies and adversaries alike accountable when their actions threaten US interests.”
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US Lawmakers Urge Treasury to Investigate Whether Irish Bill Targeting Israel Violates Anti-Boycott Law
A pro-Hamas demonstration in Ireland led by nationalist party Sinn Fein. Photo: Reuters/Clodagh Kilcoyne
A group of US lawmakers is calling on the Treasury Department to investigate and potentially penalize Ireland over proposed legislation targeting Israeli goods, warning that the move could trigger sanctions under longstanding US anti-boycott laws.
In a letter sent on Thursday to US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, 16 Republican members of Congress expressed “serious concerns” about Ireland’s recent legislative push to ban trade with territories under Israeli administration, including the West Bank, Gaza, East Jerusalem, and the Golan Heights.
The letter, spearheaded by Rep. Claudia Tenney (R-NY), called for the US to “send a clear signal” that any attempts to economically isolate Israel will “carry consequences.”
The Irish measure, introduced by Foreign Affairs and Trade Minister Simon Harris, seeks to prohibit the import of goods and services originating from what the legislation refers to as “occupied Palestinian territories,” including Israeli communities in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. Supporters say the bill aligns with international law and human rights principles, while opponents, including the signatories of the letter, characterize it as a direct extension of the boycott, divestment, and sanctions (BDS) movement, which seeks to isolate Israel as a step toward the destruction of the world’s lone Jewish state.
Some US lawmakers have also described the Irish bill as an example of “antisemitic hate” that could risk hurting relations between Dublin and Washington.
“Such policies not only promote economic discrimination but also create legal uncertainty for US companies operating in Ireland,” the lawmakers wrote in this week’s letter, urging Bessent to determine whether Ireland’s actions qualify as participation in an “unsanctioned international boycott” under Section 999 of the Internal Revenue Code, also known as the Ribicoff Amendment.
Under that statute, the Treasury Department is required to maintain a list of countries that pressure companies to comply with international boycotts not sanctioned by the US. Inclusion on the list carries tax-reporting burdens and possible penalties for American firms and individuals doing business in those nations.
“If the criteria are met, Ireland should be added to the boycott list,” the letter said, arguing that such a step would help protect US companies from legal exposure and reaffirm American opposition to economic efforts aimed at isolating Israel.
Legal experts have argued that if the Irish bill becomes law, it could chase American capital out of the country while also hurting companies that do business with Ireland. Under US law, it is illegal for American companies to participate in boycotts of Israel backed by foreign governments. Several US states have also gone beyond federal restrictions to pass separate measures that bar companies from receiving state contracts if they boycott Israel.
Ireland has been one of the fiercest critics of Israel on the international stage since the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023, massacre across southern Israel, amid the ensuing war in Gaza, leading the Jewish state to shutter its embassy in Dublin.
Last year, Ireland officially recognized a Palestinian state, a decision that Israel described as a “reward for terrorism.”
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US Families File Lawsuit Accusing UNRWA of Supporting Hamas, Hezbollah
A truck, marked with United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) logo, crosses into Egypt from Gaza, at the Rafah border crossing between Egypt and the Gaza Strip, during a temporary truce between Hamas and Israel, in Rafah, Egypt, Nov. 27, 2023. Photo: REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh
American families of victims of Hamas and Hezbollah attacks have filed a lawsuit against the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, accusing the organization of violating US antiterrorism laws by providing material support to the Islamist terror groups behind the deadly assaults.
Last week, more than 200 families filed a lawsuit in a Washington, DC district court accusing the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) of violating US antiterrorism laws by providing funding and support to Hamas and Hezbollah, both designated as foreign terrorist organizations.
The lawsuit alleges that UNRWA employs staff with direct ties to the Iran-backed terror group, including individuals allegedly involved in carrying out attacks against the Jewish state.
However, UNRWA has firmly denied the allegations, labeling them as “baseless” and condemning the lawsuit as “meritless, absurd, dangerous, and morally reprehensible.”
According to the organization, the lawsuit is part of a wider campaign of “misinformation and lawfare” targeting its work in the Gaza Strip, where it says Palestinians are enduring “mass, deliberate and forced starvation.”
The UN agency reports that more than 150,000 donors across the United States have supported its programs providing food, medical aid, education, and trauma assistance in the war-torn enclave amid the ongoing conflict.
In a press release, UNRWA USA affirmed that it will continue its humanitarian efforts despite facing legal challenges aimed at undermining its work.
“Starvation does not pause for politics. Neither will we,” the statement read.
Last year, Israeli security documents revealed that of UNRWA’s 13,000 employees in Gaza, 440 were actively involved in Hamas’s military operations, with 2,000 registered as Hamas operatives.
According to these documents, at least nine UNRWA employees took part directly in the terror group’s Oct. 7, 2023, invasion of and massacre across southern Israel.
Israeli officials also uncovered a large Hamas data center beneath UNRWA headquarters, with cables running through the facility above, and found that Hamas also stored weapons in other UNRWA sites.
The UN agency has also aligned with Hamas in efforts against the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), an Israeli and US-backed program that delivers aid directly to Palestinians, blocking Hamas from diverting supplies for terror activities and selling them at inflated prices.
These Israeli intelligence documents also revealed that a senior Hamas leader, killed in an Israeli strike in September 2024, had served as the head of the UNRWA teachers’ union in Lebanon, where Lebanon is based,
UNRWA’s education programs have been found by IMPACT-se, an international organization that monitors global education, to contribute to the radicalization of younger generations of Palestinians.