Israeli soldiers gesture from an Israeli military vehicle, after a ceasefire was agreed to by Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon, near Israel’s border with Lebanon in northern Israel, Nov. 27, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun

While US President Joe Biden hailed the new ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hezbollah on Tuesday as a “courageous” step toward peace, security experts and residents of northern Israel voiced starkly contrasting sentiments, criticizing the agreement as falling far short of addressing the ongoing threats posed by the Iran-backed Lebanese terrorist group.

“I applaud the courageous decision made by the leaders of Lebanon and Israel to end the violence. It reminds us that peace is possible,” Biden said one day before the ceasefire took effect on Wednesday.

He added that it was “designed to be a permanent cessation of hostilities,” vowing that Hezbollah, which wields significant political and military influence across Lebanon, would “not be allowed to threaten the security of Israel again.”

But according to Lieutenant Colonel (Res.) Sarit Zehavi, a resident of northern Israel and the founder and director of Alma — a research center that focuses on security challenges relating to Israel’s northern border — the ceasefire deal, the details of which have not been made public, is nowhere close to establishing peace.

“Let’s not be mistaken. Ceasefire is not peace,” Zehavi told The Algemeiner. “There is a gap between the two and in order to bridge the gap, we need a thorough change in Lebanon and in the Iranian involvement in the region.”

According to Zehavi, the deal was problematic at the outset because it was based on UN Security Council Resolution 1701, which ended the 2006 Second Lebanon War and has been criticized for its historical ineffectiveness. Zehavi highlighted the failures of the Lebanese army and UNIFIL [UN Interim Force in Lebanon] troops in enforcing the resolution in the past, warning that the same could happen again.

As part of the deal, Israel has insisted on retaining the ability to enforce the resolution independently, but this approach carries risks, Zehavi said. “If we enforce the resolution, it means that there won’t be a ceasefire. If there isn’t a ceasefire, it means that Hezbollah will retaliate, and we will continue the ongoing fighting.”

Hezbollah had already violated the terms of the deal within hours of its signing, with operatives disguised as civilians entering restricted zones in southern Lebanon, including the villages of Kila, Mais a-Jabal, and Markaba, despite warnings from the Israel Defense Forces (IDF).

Another sticking point is the lack of safeguards preventing Hezbollah from rearming, leaving Israel reliant on Lebanese assurances. “After what happened on [last] Oct. 7, Israelis are not willing to enable Hezbollah to recover,” Zehavi asserted. “We cannot rely on just promises; we need to make sure that Hezbollah is not capable of threatening us and our families over here in the north.”

The international community, Zehavi argued, has a crucial role to play in pressuring Lebanon to sever its ties with Hezbollah. So long as Lebanon does not designate Hezbollah as a terrorist organization, she said, the Shi’ite Muslim group will continue to exert influence over the country and therefore pose a threat to neighboring Israel. Members of the group hold influential positions in the Lebanese government, including ministers who control border crossings and airports, facilitating the smuggling of weapons into Lebanon.

Zehavi also pointed to Iran’s declaration that it will help rebuild both Lebanon and Hezbollah, even while continuing to funnel weapons and financial aid into the terrorist group through smuggling routes.

“As long as the ayatollahs of Iran continue to nourish proxy militias in the Middle East against Israel, we are not going to see peace,” she said.

Other northern residents similarly argued that halting the fight against Hezbollah now would give the terrorist group an opportunity to rebuild its arsenal, strengthen its forces, and potentially replicate the scale of Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023, attack in Israel’s northern region.

“We never learn. Just like in 2006, and many other times, we stop at the brink of total victory, handing our enemies the opportunity to rebuild and return years later, stronger and deadlier than before,” said Moti Vanunu, a resident who was evacuated from the northern town of Kiryat Shmona.

Gabi Naaman, mayor of the battered northern city of Shlomi, expressed skepticism that the ceasefire would bring lasting security to Israel’s northern residents.

“Everything we’ve seen indicates that the next round is inevitable, whether it’s in a month, two months, or ten years,” he said.

Despite her reservations, Zehavi explained that Israel had no real alternative but to accept the ceasefire, citing the need to provide northern residents with a return to normalcy and to provide the opportunity to the IDF to resupply ammunition and allow soldiers time to recover. “We had to choose between two bad options,” she said.

Some 70,000 Israelis living in the north were forced to evacuate their homes amid unrelenting rocket, missile, and drone attacks from Hezbollah, which began firing on Oct. 8 of last year, one day after Hamas’s invasion of and massacre southern Israel from Gaza. Israel had been exchanging fire with Hezbollah across the Lebanon border until it ramped up its military efforts over the last two months, moving ground forces into southern Lebanon and destroying much of Hezbollah’s leadership and weapons stockpiles through airstrikes.

While Zehavi viewed the timing of the campaign’s start in September — ahead of the challenges of fighting during the winter months — and not in May as a strategic error, she applauded the army’s achievements of the past two months.

In a poll conducted by Israel’s Channel 12 News on Tuesday night, half of those surveyed felt there was no clear winner in the war against Hezbollah. Twenty percent of respondents believed the IDF emerged victorious in the war, while 19 percent thought Hezbollah prevailed. A further 11 percent were unsure who had the upper hand.

The post Biden Lauds ‘Permanent’ Ceasefire, but Northern Israelis Warn It Opens Door to Future Hezbollah Attacks first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

Then-Republican presidential nominee and current US-President-elect Donald Trump looks on during a rally at Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum, in Uniondale, New York, US, Sept. 18, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Brendan McDermid

Key members of the incoming Trump administration are taking credit for the newly announced ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hezbollah, arguing that the Jewish state and the Lebanese terrorist group agreed to the deal in response to US-President-elect Donald Trump’s election victory earlier this month. 

“Everyone is coming to the table because of President Trump,” US Rep. Mike Waltz (R-FL), Trump’s incoming White House national security adviser, said on X/Twitter. “His resounding victory sent a clear message to the rest of the world that chaos won’t be tolerated. I’m glad to see concrete steps towards deescalation in the Middle East.”

While celebrating the ceasefire, Waltz also warned that Iran, which backs Hezbollah, remains the main obstacle in securing long-standing peace in the Middle East. 

“But let’s be clear: The Iran Regime is the root cause of the chaos & terror that has been unleashed across the region. We will not tolerate the status quo of their support for terrorism,” Waltz added.

Israel and Hezbollah agreed to a ceasefire deal on Tuesday that took effect on Wednesday, effectively ending a 14-month period of war between the two parties. The agreement, brokered by the US and France, will allow roughly 70,000 Israelis to return to their homes in the northern portion of the Jewish state after having been displaced by barrages of missiles, rockets, and drones from Hezbollah. Estimates suggest that Hezbollah fired between 100-200 missiles into northern Israel nearly every day since the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas’s massacre across southern Israel last Oct. 7.

The ceasefire agreement will allow for intensified diplomatic efforts in Gaza, where Israel has been embroiled in an ongoing war with Hamas since the Oct. 7 terrorist attacks.

Addressing the press from the White House Rose Garden, Biden touted the new pact between Israel and Hezbollah. However, the president cautioned that Israel retains the right to retaliate should the terrorist group launch another attack against the Jewish state. 

“Let’s be clear. Israel did not launch this war. The Lebanese people did not seek that war either. Nor did the United States,” Biden said.

“This is designed to be a permanent cessation of hostilities,” Biden added. “What is left of Hezbollah and other terrorist organizations will not be allowed to threaten the security of Israel again.”

The Biden administration had reportedly been in collaboration with the Trump team as the president-elect continues the transition process to the White House. Waltz and Jake Sullivan, the outgoing national security adviser, had reportedly been in communication regarding the White House’s efforts to secure a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah. However, the Biden administration has said that none of Trump;s senior foreign policy team directly participated in the ceasefire negotiations.

US Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) also credited Trump for the truce.

“I appreciate the hard work of the Biden administration, supported by President Trump, to make this ceasefire a reality,” Graham wrote on social media.

Richard Goldberg, a senior adviser with the Foundation for Defense of Democracies think tank, posted on social media that “Iran is pulling back to regroup ahead of Trump coming into office.”

“It’s a combination of Israeli military success and Trump’s election — the ayatollah has no clothes and he knows we know,” Goldberg said.

The post Trump Team Claims Credit for Israel-Hezbollah Ceasefire first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

A poster for “Red Alert.” Photo: Keshet

Legendary “Pulp Fiction” producer Lawrence Bender will be a co-executive producer on a new Israeli television series based on true events that took place during the deadly Hamas terrorist attacks in southern Israel last year.

The action-drama series titled “Red Alert” will premiere on Israel’s leading television channel Keshet 12, it was announced on Tuesday. The title for the series refers to the emergency Red Alert siren in Israel that indicates an imminent rocket fire. The show was developed in collaboration with Oct. 7 survivors and families of victims.

“This multicharacter drama blends incredible human stories of bravery, resilience, and defiance — many of which made news headlines around the world in the aftermath of this shocking terror attack — with intense military action,” according to a synopsis provided by Keshet International, which is the global distributor for the series. The show will begin filming in Israel in the spring in Hebrew, Arabic, and English.

“‘Red Alert’ will embark on an intense and emotional journey that explores the indomitable human spirit,” said Bender, whose credits include “Kill Bill,” “Good Will Hunting,” and “Inglourious Basterds.” “This international action drama will showcase the unwavering resolve of real people who confront unimaginable challenges to create a compelling viewing experience,” he added.

Bender’s films have been nominated for 36 Academy Awards and have won nine. His company, Bender Brown Productions, will co-produce “Red Alert” with Israel’s Green Productions. The series will also receive funding from multiple partners, including the Jewish National Fund USA – Israel Entertainment Fund (IEF). “Red Alert” is created, written, and will be directed by Lior Chefetz; co-created by Ruth Efroni; and co-written by Kineret Peled and Idan Hubel.

“Red Alert” is one of the first scripted dramas about the Oct. 7 massacre, noted Keren Shahar, CEO of Keshet International. She said the new series “will provide a unique perspective, distinct from news or documentaries, to create a powerful testament to the extraordinary capacity for hope and resilience that resides within us all.”

“The heroic stories and true events depicted will weave an action-driven tapestry that captures the incredible power of kindness, sacrifice, and altruism in a way that connects on a deeply emotional level,” she explained. Co-executive producer Jordana Reuben Yechiel added that “Red Alert” will highlight the “extraordinary people” who “when faced with life and death choices, rose up to be heroes.”

“For a while, there seemed to be no reasonable dramatic approach to retell such a profound event,” said Karni Ziv, head of drama and comedy for Keshet 12. “We needed time and perspective to find the right project and the right creative partners to help us tell this story in the right way. In ‘Red Alert,’ the human drama transcends the war, which sometimes serves as background and sometimes as the story itself, to deliver a message of hope and solidarity.”

Casting for “Red Alert” is currently in progress. The five-part series is scheduled to premiere on Keshet 12 in October 2025 to coincide with the second anniversary of the Hamas attack in Israel.

The post ‘Pulp Fiction’ Visionary Lawrence Bender to Executive Produce New Israeli Series Based on Oct. 7 Terror Attack first appeared on Algemeiner.com.