War of Iron Swords: Former member of the Knesset Send dirta senior researcher at the Institute for National Security Studies, spoke today (Thursday) with Sion Cohen in her program on 103FM and explained his opinion on the conduct of the Israeli government regarding the campaign in the northern sector.
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“The preparation at a certain level makes it clear to the Israeli public that I am not sure that the meaning of fighting in the north against Hezbollah is clear to them,” said Shelah at the beginning of the conversation. “When you start saying ‘members should be prepared for a situation where there will be no electricity or hospitals will be so occupied that there will be a question about their functioning,’ then the public begins to understand that this is not about Gaza, or even a double Gaza, but about something else of its magnitude.”
He further claimed that “in the end, in order to return the residents to the north, to give them both security and a sense of security, there are two options – a major campaign with Hezbollah that has very heavy consequences on the Israeli home front or a political settlement, and this political settlement is not Israel’s against Hezbollah, it is of The coalition that the USA is trying to establish in the Middle East against the axis led by Iran.”
IDF attacks in southern Lebanon in Ariya El Hayam (Photo: Arab Networks)
In light of his statements, Cohen wondered how much peace the political settlement he was talking about would buy us, and Selah explained: “It can buy us more peace than even a campaign. In the end, the conditions in the north are not the same. We have been in the north since 2006, not because we deterred Hezbollah, but because that the interests of the parties here, which since October 7th are regional and even global, intersected in favor of this thing. As long as there is no shift on the political level, which is relevant for the day after Gaza, the chance that it will end in a battle is increasing.”
Cohen continued and asked what would change the equation in his opinion, and Shelah declared: “Only a decision by Israel – frames the entire event in a global regional framework, and understands that in order to push back and even deliver a very strong blow to the axis of resistance led by Iran, only a regional partnership with American support will be able to do that. The problem with this, and the words of Saudi Arabia do not weaken but strengthen what I am saying, that for this Israel needs to show a willingness to talk about a political settlement with a single Palestinian entity.”
“As long as we are not there for political or other reasons, this regional connection will not be established and this increases the chance of a regional campaign in which a military Israel will stand alone,” he emphasized. “Anyone who talks about something else is spreading sand or gaining time. Netanyahu is not ready to say these things for political reasons because he is afraid that his government will fall. I think that Gantz and Eisenkot, who understand exactly what I am saying, it is time for them to put it on the table.”
In conclusion, Shelah said that “the point is that today the Israeli public is hurt, angry and shocked by the events of Shiva in October. We must maintain the process and enter into it. These are the choices facing the State of Israel, both in the Gaza context and in the northern context.”
Assisted in the preparation of the article: Shani Romano 103fm