Israeli Ambassador to the United Nations Danny Danon stated that Israel’s military actions to stop Hezbollah’s rocket attacks were necessitated by the failure of diplomacy to disarm Hezbollah south of the Litani River under previous agreements and UN resolutions.
“Overnight, Israel expanded the forward defense area in southern Lebanon. This step was taken to remove immediate terrorist threats near our border and create an additional layer of security for the residents of northern Israel,” Danon said at a press briefing this morning.
He emphasized: “Israel did not choose this situation. Hezbollah did. For weeks, Hezbollah has been launching rockets at Israeli communities from southern Lebanon. It has been doing so from areas where it is not supposed to be present at all.”
Danon questioned the UN’s continued focus on diplomacy when Hezbollah has failed to abide by any diplomatic agreements until now. The UN continues to ignore any diplomatic commitments it made last year.
AFSI’s take:
Lebanon must immediately fulfill its governmental duty to curb Hezbollah, preventing the terrorist group from continuously dragging the nation into conflicts with Israel. Should the Lebanese government fail to take prompt action against Hezbollah, Israel will be left with no alternative but to intervene. Israel has declared that ground forces have already entered Southern Lebanon today to counter Hezbollah. Israel would undoubtedly welcome the Lebanese army’s collaboration in eliminating this existential threat.