According to reports in Israeli media, Israel plans to establish military outposts in southern Lebanon and southwestern Syria as a means of protecting Israeli communities from attacks by Hezbollah and other terrorist organizations.
Harel Bitton Rosen, a reporter for Channel 14 (Israel's equivalent of Fox News), said on Thursday:
Israel's new defense initiative for its northern region – 12 outposts to be built along the border with Lebanon, one opposite each Israeli community [on the border].
In addition, nine outposts will be built in the outer regions of Syria, two of which will be built on the former Syrian Mount Hermon.
A senior Israeli official tells Channel 14: [President-elect Donald] President Trump doesn't press for anything else. we will stay there.
Israel gradually withdrew from cities in southern Lebanon under the terms of a 60-day ceasefire with Hezbollah. The Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) is intended to replace the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) in the region. Separately, since the fall of the Syrian regime, Israel has occupied the strategic summit of Mount Hermon and areas in or near the former demilitarized zone east of Syria's Golan Heights, which have been attacked by Syrian rebels. is being prevented.
It is unclear whether the international community will accept Israel's presence in these areas. Hezbollah has previously used the IDF, stationed in southern Lebanon from 1982 to 2000, as a pretext to attack Israel. The Syrian rebels who have taken over the country have insisted that Israel respect its territorial integrity.
But Israel may not care. There may be no other way to ensure that terrorist groups do not use border areas to attack Israeli towns.
On Thursday, the Israeli Air Force (IAF) conducted airstrikes on Hezbollah launchers in Lebanon. The IDF claims it did so only after requests to the LAF, which is responsible for destroying such weapons, were not fulfilled.
There are also questions about whether the outposts will be effective, become attractive targets for terrorists, and invite ambushes as Israeli soldiers patrol territory between fortified military positions.
But at least in Syria, some Druze Arab communities near the border have expressed interest in a permanent IDF presence or even annexation by Israel, citing fears of the presence of jihadist Syrian rebels. .
Joel B. Pollack is a senior editor at Breitbart News. Breitbart News Sunday Sunday nights from 7:00 PM to 10:00 PM ET (4:00 PM to 7:00 PM PT) on Sirius XM Patriot. he is the author of Agenda: What should President Trump do in his first 100 days?available for pre-order on Amazon. He is also the author of Trumpian Virtues: Lessons and Legacy of the Donald Trump Presidencynow available on Audible. He is the recipient of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter @joelpolak.
