Israel’s two-pronged Lebanon strategy: Pursue border deal, strike Hezbollah
Israel is trying to negotiate a border demarcation with the Lebanese government while continuing to keep Hezbollah in check.
TEL AVIV — Israel this week confirmed its engagement in US-mediated talks with Lebanon to settle their territorial disputes, but at the same time it continued to launch aerial strikes at targets in Lebanon.
This policy of trying to “hold both ends of the stick” reflects surprising pragmatism by the Israeli government toward decades-old border disputes with Lebanon, while also signaling its desire for strict enforcement of the Nov. 27 ceasefire, which Israel accuses Hezbollah of constantly violating.
Attacking and negotiating
On Thursday, Israeli jets struck a facility in the Bekaa Valley, in eastern Lebanon, that Israel said was a Hezbollah missile manufacturing plant. Israel had destroyed the factory last year, but says that Hezbollah was trying to rebuild it to restock the rocket arsenals depleted by the recent war. On Tuesday, an Israeli drone strike on a car in Nabatieh, in southern Lebanon, killed a Hezbollah aerial defense unit commander, according to an Israeli statement.
