The ceasefire arrangement between Israel and Lebanon is a positive and necessary development. Once the decision was made not to pursue a decisive military operation across all of Lebanon—a decision dictated by the limitations of the IDF’s capabilities and the lack of international legitimacy—the required achievement from the IDF focused on the areas near the border: destroying the infrastructure for ground invasions, pushing the Radwan Force further north, and clearing the area to prevent anti-tank missile fire on Israeli communities. This mission was completed several weeks ago and extending it to include an additional line of villages would not change the reality, which requires a political arrangement.
The critical issue now is what happens next: arrangements such as UN Resolution 1701 failed not because of their wording but because Hezbollah’s almost immediate violations of them were not met with any decisive Israeli response, effectively leaving the conditions unenforced.
Israel must act decisively to prevent Hezbollah from “creeping” southward, establish adequate border defenses—unlike the situation that existed prior to October 7—and engage in honest dialogue with the residents of the north to ensure they feel secure enough to return to their homes. This will be the true test of the arrangement, not the contents of any particular document.
The ceasefire arrangement between Israel and Lebanon is a positive and necessary development. Once the decision was made not to pursue a decisive military operation across all of Lebanon—a decision dictated by the limitations of the IDF’s capabilities and the lack of international legitimacy—the required achievement from the IDF focused on the areas near the border: destroying the infrastructure for ground invasions, pushing the Radwan Force further north, and clearing the area to prevent anti-tank missile fire on Israeli communities. This mission was completed several weeks ago and extending it to include an additional line of villages would not change the reality, which requires a political arrangement.
The critical issue now is what happens next: arrangements such as UN Resolution 1701 failed not because of their wording but because Hezbollah’s almost immediate violations of them were not met with any decisive Israeli response, effectively leaving the conditions unenforced.
Israel must act decisively to prevent Hezbollah from “creeping” southward, establish adequate border defenses—unlike the situation that existed prior to October 7—and engage in honest dialogue with the residents of the north to ensure they feel secure enough to return to their homes. This will be the true test of the arrangement, not the contents of any particular document.