Between Hezbollah and Hamas: Inconsistent gov't conditions for ceasefire | Analysis
Many are angry about the emerging ceasefire in the north, claiming that it abandons residents – meanwhile, they demand to end the war with Hamas, which will lead to a similar outcome
The state security cabinet is expected to approve the ceasefire agreement with Hezbollah Tuesday evening. Many in the public and political establishment are furious about the agreement, claiming that it abandons northern residents to continue living under the threat of Hezbollah and effectively ends the war – without destroying the terrorist organization's ability to recover, and without granting Israel the right to fight again on Lebanese soil. The argument is legitimate and the fears, especially those of the residents close to the border, are completely understandable.
What is somewhat less reasonable is the argument, in the same breath, that Israel should end the war in Gaza by surrendering to all the conditions of the terrorist organizations in the Gaza Strip, leaving Hamas as it is, abandoning the Philadelphi Corridor, and claiming that Israel can return and fight in the Strip whenever it desires.
Over the past few months, wheat has been growing again in the southern farms, children are playing again in the gardens, and life in most of the kibbutzim has already returned to its course. The revival would not have happened without the significant presence of IDF forces in Gaza, without the systematic destruction of infrastructures, above and below ground, without the assurance of security and the actual sense of security.
It is impossible to hold both ends of the rope. An agreement with Hamas based on the terrorist organization's demands will immediately lead to the restoration of its governmental and military capacities, and will pose an immediate threat to the residents of the kibbutzim on the border. In case the Philadelphi Corridor is abandoned, it could also lead to rearmament, with tens of thousands of rockets and more of the same type of wars that has broken out in recent years.
A similar argument can also be made against the Israeli government: It claims that the evacuation of the Gaza led to the resurgence of Hamas's terror, yet this is the same government that essentially allows, due to this agreement, Hezbollah to continue to grow and recover in Lebanon. This is happening with no certainty that, over the years and with gradual violations of the agreement, we will not see its forces spreading and strengthening along the border while Israel silently watches from the sidelines, fearing the start of another war.
The buffer zone that Israel created between the northern neighborhoods in Gaza and the Israeli communities near the southern security barrier ensures that the residents who survived the October 7 massacre are protected from surprise attacks across the border. In the north, the ceasefire agreement leaves homes in Metula and Margaliot exposed to the villages where Hezbollah terrorists grew up, either to more rocket launches or even an invasion attempts at the opportune time.