Two things are happening: This ceasefire that was announced by Donald Trump was seen as a slap on the face to the Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu and his coalition government, which were talking about occupying Lebanese territory all the way to the Litani River.
And then you had that social media post from the US president basically telling Israel that enough was enough with the air strikes. However, nobody – not the US, not Secretary of State Rubio – has asked Israel to withdraw from the territory that it already occupies. So that is the only wiggle room that the current Israeli government has to justify to its public, which is furious with the government, that it’s still doing something to make good on its promise to provide security.
The Israeli government was so overconfident. Just a few days ago, it was talking about forcing the Lebanese government not just to disarm Hezbollah by force, but to kick them out of the parliament, which they won elections to have membership in, to kick them out of the government as well.
And in the meantime, all of this demolition, equating the Shia-majority villages with Hezbollah infrastructure, all of that is done to appease the right-wing base in Israel, and to tell them they’re doing whatever they can to keep them safe, including that absolute decimation of the villages, turning them all to rubble, and not allowing the Lebanese residents to go back to their homes and rebuild.
The Israeli government sees Trump’s ceasefire announcement as a “slap in the face”.Two things are happening: This ceasefire that was announced by Donald Trump was seen as a slap on the face to the Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu and his coalition government, which were talking about occupying Lebanese territory all the way to the Litani River.
And then you had that social media post from the US president basically telling Israel that enough was enough with the air strikes. However, nobody – not the US, not Secretary of State Rubio – has asked Israel to withdraw from the territory that it already occupies. So that is the only wiggle room that the current Israeli government has to justify to its public, which is furious with the government, that it’s still doing something to make good on its promise to provide security.
The Israeli government was so overconfident. Just a few days ago, it was talking about forcing the Lebanese government not just to disarm Hezbollah by force, but to kick them out of the parliament, which they won elections to have membership in, to kick them out of the government as well.
And in the meantime, all of this demolition, equating the Shia-majority villages with Hezbollah infrastructure, all of that is done to appease the right-wing base in Israel, and to tell them they’re doing whatever they can to keep them safe, including that absolute decimation of the villages, turning them all to rubble, and not allowing the Lebanese residents to go back to their homes and rebuild.
The Israeli government sees Trump’s ceasefire announcement as a “slap in the face”.
https://aje.news/4h6pbo?update=4502486
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