IDF officers propose 3-5 mile buffer zone in southern Lebanon

Senior reservists in the Israeli military warned on Tuesday that Israel risks giving up on important achievements if it agrees to a ceasefire with Lebanon, with negotiations apparently advancing amid US envoy Amos Hochstein's visit to Lebanon and Israel.

"The achievements may go down the drain, a security zone must be established inside Lebanon," officers from the Forum of Reservist Commanders and Fighters said. "The IDF must create a strip 5-8 kilometers (3-5 miles) wide, from which all Lebanese residents are evacuated."

The reserve Major General (res.) Guy Zur, a former Ground Forces Command chief, said Israel "must not repeat past mistakes, we need to create a safety zone into which southern Lebanese residents are not allowed to return until full and effective responsibility is taken by the Lebanese state and army. Any other agreement only signifies the countdown to the next round."

Colonel (res.) Hazi Nahmias, a former commander of the Givati Infantry Brigade, echoed similar sentiments about the developing negotiations in Lebanon.

"The reserve and regular forces gave the state and IDF everything they could and achieved extraordinary achievements," he said. "It's the prime minister's responsibility to ensure that these achievements do not go down the drain in the form of another agreement that isn't worth the paper it's signed on."

The forum is made up of hundreds of officers in regular and reserve service, who claim that "The State of Israel is facing a historic opportunity to change the situation in the north fundamentally, and it seems that once again it may repeat past mistakes and rely on other factors that apparently will do the work for it."

Given the IDF's current inability to defeat Hezbollah, "Israel should move the buffer zone from the Israeli side to the Lebanese side, the IDF should define a security strip inside the country from which all Lebanese residents are evacuated, and through which the IDF can ensure the prevention of Hezbollah's return to the defined area and the prevention of rocket fire towards the communities. This is the only solution that will ensure the security of the residents for many years to come."