The Israeli newspaper “Maariv” published a new report, translated by “Lebanon 24”, in which it quoted an Israeli security source as saying that estimates in Israel indicate that “Hezbollah” may respond in the next few days to the framework agreement with Lebanon by launching attacks against the Israeli army, stressing that the security establishment is preparing for the possibility of an escalation on the northern front.
According to the source, the prevailing assessment is that “Hezbollah will not stand idly by,” but at the same time he stressed that Israel does not face any restrictions on its freedom of military action, and said: “If the party attacks, we will work to remove the threats and respond to it. We are also prepared for escalation.”
The report indicated that, contrary to what was previously practiced, Israel no longer adopts the automatic formula that requires it to respond to any shooting directed at it by targeting the southern suburbs of Beirut. Here, the source says: “Each case will be dealt with individually. If Israeli towns are attacked, a decision will be made on how to respond, and the suburb may also be a target, but this will not be an automatic response.”
The source stated that Israel takes into account the possibility that Iran will attack Israel if the southern suburb is bombed, and also takes into account the possibility that Tehran will move against Israel if it concludes that the framework agreement exceeds the memorandum of understanding it reached with the United States regarding Lebanon.
The security source believed that Washington, in any case, would not rush to impose restrictions on Israeli operations against Hezbollah if the party actually took steps aimed at thwarting the agreement, and said: “Targeting Hezbollah also serves the Lebanese government and the agreement brokered by the United States. The United States will not want to allow Iran and Hezbollah to undermine the political track. However, Lebanon’s sovereignty is not harmed when Israel attacks Hezbollah.”
The source explained that the current agreement is a framework agreement that stipulates the establishment of experimental zones from which the Israeli army will withdraw, with the Lebanese army assuming responsibility there, but he considered that “this is just a good beginning for the next stages,” considering that “the greatest achievement is that Israel will not withdraw from the yellow line before disarming Hezbollah in all parts of Lebanon.”
