‘Shut up or declare war’ – Hezbollah won’t remove outpost in Israeli territory

Lebanese MP from Hezbollah’s political branch says terror group won’t clear outpost from Israeli territory, dares Jerusalem to launch war in order to do so.

By World Israel News Staff

A Lebanese Hezbollah MP told local media that the terror group refuses to dismantle an outpost it established in Israeli territory, and that Jerusalem could declare war should they want to clear the encampment.

“The enemy is demanding the removal of the two tents and prefers that the resistance do it because it doesn’t want to enter into an undesirable war,” Muhammad Raad, a member of Hezbollah’s political faction in the Lebanese parliament, told local Arabic-language media.

“If you don’t want war, shut up and walk back [the demand],” he added.

Several weeks ago, operatives from the Hezbollah terror group set up several tents on the Israeli side of the Blue Line border between the two countries.

In an attempt to avoid a direct confrontation with Lebanon, Israeli Ambassador to the UN Gilad Erdan has called upon the United Nations’ UNIFIL peacekeeping force – which is responsible for maintaining the status quo along the explosive border – to clear the outpost.

Erdan noted in an open letter to the international body that it bears “the responsibility to ensure the removal of all Hezbollah’s military outposts along the Blue Line,” stressing that “Israel will not accept any violation of its sovereignty and retains the right to take all necessary measures to protect its territory.”

However, while the UN has acknowledged that the encampment violates Israeli sovereignty and is illegal under international law, the organization has dragged its feet regarding practical steps to remove the outposts.

“Our goal is to move the outpost out of there. We prefer [that] Hezbollah will do it themselves than to bomb it. We made that clear to the U.S. and they made that clear to people in Lebanon,” a senior Israeli official told Axios.