Retired Israeli Brig. Gen. Amir Avivi, the founder and chair of the Israel Defense and Security Forum, told Newsmax on Tuesday that the only option for Israel is to wage "full-scale war" against Hezbollah in Lebanon, and the U.S. shoulders some responsibility for that.
Avivi joined "The Record With Greta Van Susteren" hours after Israel Defense Forces said it eliminated Hezbollah commander Fuad Shukr, the one responsible for the bombing that killed 12 children in the Golan Heights over the weekend.
"I think that Hezbollah will respond and the shooting will continue. The big question is where all this is going," Avivi told Van Susteren. "And I think that appeasement, trying to find diplomatic solutions, is not going to work.
"When the U.S. is unwilling to pose a credible military threat on Iran and Hezbollah, when the world is not putting real pressure on Hezbollah to withdraw from South Lebanon, according to Resolution 1701, this leaves Israel with no other solutions but at a certain point going to a full-scale war against Hezbollah."
Avivi was referring to U.N. Security Council Resolution 1701, which was negotiated to end the 2006 Lebanon War. Israel kept its end of the bargain, withdrawing its forces from behind the Blue Line, the line of demarcation dividing Israel from Lebanon. However, South Lebanon was supposed to be a demilitarized zone — it isn't — and Hezbollah was supposed to be disarmed — it isn't, Avivi said.
"Appeasement is not going to bring peace. We need to stand strong and threaten them," Avivi said. "And without that, I don't see any prospect of Hezbollah withdrawing from South Lebanon.
"And this is needed in order to bring back the 80,000 Israeli displaced citizens who are not in their homes. And for 10 months they are in hotels spread around Israel and are waiting to go back home."
Shukr was killed in an Israeli airstrike in Beirut. The U.S. had a $5 million bounty on Shukr over his role in the 1983 bombing of U.S. Marine Corps barracks in Beirut. Israel found and eliminated him in three days.
"I can tell you from the Israeli side that Israel has very, very good intelligence on Hezbollah," Avivi told Van Susteren.
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Mark Swanson ✉
Mark Swanson, a Newsmax writer and editor, has nearly three decades of experience covering news, culture and politics.
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