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Israeli opposition party leaders push for ground invasion of Lebanon

Gantz: ‘An army of terror will not be deployed on our borders and threaten our citizens.’

By Vered Weiss, World Israel News

Following the killing of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah on Friday, members of Israel’s Opposition parties are encouraging a ground invasion of Lebanon to secure the border with Israel and to ensure the safe return of evacuees to their homes in the north.

During a visit to kibbutz Kfar Giladi on the border with Lebanon, Democrats Party chairman Yair Golan said Israel should take control of the adjacent Lebanese village so residents of the community “would not be in the line of fire.”

Golan said in an interview that evacuees will “not be able to return to their homes if the terrorists are so close.”

“A ground invasion of Lebanon is necessary in order to ensure that there is no Hezbollah presence south of the Litani River,” Golan said.

MK Avigdor Liberman, head of Yisrael Beytenu, said the Lebanese towns should be “flattened” prior to an IDF invasion, and mines and tunnels should be neutralized.

Regarding the civilians in these Lebanese communities, Liberman said there were “no uninvolved people” and “whoever remained there were Hezbollah members.”

National Unity chairman MK Benny Gantz said that if diplomacy doesn’t work and if a solid deal isn’t possible, Israel’s military should begin an invasion of Lebanon so that “an army of terror will not be deployed on our borders and threaten our citizens.”

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Gantz added, “The attack needs to be continuous, and the operation should be carried out speedily, continuously, and in a way that is lethal for Hezbollah.”

Yesh Atid chairman MK Yair Lapid emphasized diplomacy, although he did not rule out a military solution.

He said, “In parallel to the operational activity, now is the right time to take a diplomatic step, when we have an advantage, when we are winning,” Lapid said.
“Our goal is a hostage deal in the South and a diplomatic agreement that will distance Hezbollah from the northern border,” he said.

Lapid criticized the strategy in the Gaza war as a “ground war without a diplomatic goal” and said Israel should “get the Americans on board without quarreling with them.