Israel is preparing a more severe escalation in Lebanon as political tensions grow within Benjamin Netanyahu's government. According to Israeli media reports, the US administration has given the green light to a more forceful Israeli operation in Beirut after Tel Aviv made it clear to Washington that it will no longer tolerate Hezbollah attacks .
Saudi television Al Hadath also relaunched the situation, citing an American source who said the United States had communicated to Lebanon that any Israeli escalation would be a consequence of the Lebanese government's failure to disarm Hezbollah . "Lebanon is capable of defending Beirut if it arrests leading Hezbollah figures. This would give the impression that the government is truly intent on confronting Hezbollah," the source stated.
Meanwhile, Iran has responded harshly . " We will not hesitate to act in any way to help Lebanon and the Lebanese resistance against the illegal aggression and interference of the Zionist regime ," Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei said, quoted by the IRNA news agency.
The escalation of the conflict, however, is also intertwined with Israel's delicate internal political situation. Just today, the relevant parliamentary committee approved the bill for the early dissolution of the Knesset, launching a process that will now face three further stages in the plenary session. "It is no coincidence that, on the very day the Knesset votes on its first reading for its dissolution, Netanyahu chooses to intensify the fighting in Lebanon without a political objective, without an exit strategy, and without a vision to guarantee the safety of the inhabitants of the north," Yair Golan, leader of the Democrats party, wrote in X. "Netanyahu has lost the ability to make strategic decisions. The government continues to drag Israel from one conflict to another, with the sole interest of ensuring its own political survival."
Criticism of Netanyahu also comes from the more right-wing opposition of Avigdor Lieberman, leader of "Israel Beiteinu," who instead claims that the government is "tying the hands of IDF soldiers in Lebanon," he stated during the Ynet convention. "Israel needs a leader who prevents disasters, not reacts to them. With me, October 7th would never have happened." This morning, the relevant committee approved the bill for the early dissolution of the Knesset, a process that still requires three plenary stages.
(Unioneonline)