Smotrich calls for war to reoccupy southern Lebanon

Israel’s far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich called on Monday for a war to reoccupy southern Lebanon, Anadolu has reported.

“There is no way to restore security to the residents of the north [of Israel] without a war that will destroy Hezbollah, that will reoccupy southern Lebanon, and that will return the security strip that is today in our territory back to the territory of Lebanon,” said Smotrich in a televised speech broadcast by Hebrew media outlets, including Channel 12.

“The Israeli people are ready for this. They see with their own eyes the results of flight and withdrawal. It started in Oslo, then the flight from Lebanon and Gush Katif and the thought that it is possible to gather behind walls, fences, and sensors and build on international guarantees,” he added.

Israel occupied southern Lebanon from the early 1980s until the Israeli army withdrew in May 2000.

Tensions are rising on the Israel-Lebanon border in anticipation of a possible Israeli response to the launch of a missile on the town of Majdal Shams in the Israeli-occupied Syrian Golan Heights on Saturday, which killed at least 12 children on a sports field. Israeli officials, including Defence Minister Yoav Gallant and Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi, accused Hezbollah of firing the missile. Hezbollah denied responsibility.

Since 8 October last year, Lebanese and Palestinian factions in Lebanon, most notably Hezbollah, have been exchanging daily shellfire with the Israeli army across the Blue Line separating the two sides, resulting in deaths and injuries. Israel has also evacuated tens of thousands of its citizens from towns near the border with Lebanon, following the outbreak of the war.

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