Israeli Diaspora Minister Amichai Chikli has proposed the expulsion of people living in southern Lebanon and the creation of a ‘buffer zone’ in the region.
The situation of Israelis who have been unable to return to their homes for almost a year due to Hezbollah attacks continues to put pressure on the government. Unable to force Hezbollah to withdraw north of the Litani River despite the attacks it has organised, Israel has begun to float the idea of creating a new buffer zone in southern Lebanon.
The Israeli press reported that Major General Ori Gordin, commander of the Israeli army’s northern command, proposed the creation of a ‘buffer zone’ in southern Lebanon in a closed meeting held before tensions with Hezbollah reached their peak.
Subsequently, Israeli minister Chikli claimed on his social media account that the Lebanese government had ‘failed to ensure its sovereignty’ in the south of the country. Chikli claimed that ‘the Israeli army should take over the region’.
Chikli, who is also a Likud lawmaker from Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s party, proposed the establishment of a ‘buffer zone under the control’ of the Israeli army in a region of southern Lebanon in a map he published. Chikli advocated the expulsion of Lebanese living in the ‘buffer zone’ he wanted to create.
‘Israel plans to destroy Lebanese villages and towns’
On the other hand, Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati has said that Israel is planning to destroy Lebanon’s villages and towns and eliminate all green areas.
According to a written statement issued by the Lebanese Prime Minister’s Office, Prime Minister Mikati made the remarks at a meeting of the Council of Ministers in the capital Beirut.
Mikati recalled United Nations (UN) Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’ concern that southern Lebanon could turn into another Gaza and stressed the need to implement UN Security Council (UNSC) Resolution 2735, which calls for a ceasefire in Gaza, and to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict within the framework of a two-state solution.
Referring to Israel’s ongoing attacks on Lebanon, Mikati said: “These Israeli attacks are a genocidal war against Lebanon. Israel is planning to destroy Lebanon’s villages and towns and eliminate all green areas through these attacks.”
Mikati said that in all the meetings they held, they called on the UN, the UN Security Council and the active states to “stand by what is right and stop the attacks”, noting that Lebanon is committed to UN Security Council Resolution 1701.
The Israeli army announced that it had launched two separate air strikes on Lebanon this morning. It was reported that the attacks targeted some areas in southern and eastern Lebanon. The army said it had carried out air strikes on more than 300 ‘targets’ in southern and eastern Lebanon since the morning.
