The Israeli military has been operating recently to bomb and render all the bridges over the Litani River in Lebanon unusable, thereby effectively isolating southern Lebanon from the rest of the country. The IDF has also issued mass evacuation warnings, forcing residents of southern Lebanon to evacuate to the northern part of the country (which is becoming increasingly difficult due to the bombing of the bridges).

Israeli troops are performing crucial tasks in Lebanon, as they must neutralize the Hezbollah threat. The state of Israel must take all necessary measures to permanently eliminate the threat to residents of the northern Galilee. But in addition to military action, there must be a strategy to empower the Lebanese government and strengthen ties with Beirut so as to marginalize Hezbollah.

In the “Religious Zionist” party meeting this week, far-right Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said, “The Litani River must be our new border with the State of Lebanon, like the Yellow Line in Gaza and the Hermon Mountain buffer in Syria.” This statement, which Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz reiterated the next day, reflects a policy that the current Israeli government opts for in many arenas—use of force and occupation as the only tool for achieving security, a policy that has failed time and again, both here in Israel and around the world.

The IDF was stationed in the security zone in Lebanon from 1985 to 2000, and 559 soldiers paid with their lives for the destructive Israeli presence there. 26 years later, we must recognize how deep and blood-soaked the Lebanese quagmire was for us.

Now, government ministers are seeking to reestablish that same “security zone,” forgetting the bloody reality that prevailed during the years of the previous security zone’s existence. We should have learned long ago that force alone can’t eliminate Hezbollah. We have tried this so many times, and they all ended with another round, another operation, another return to the bloody reality. The cycle of bloodshed continues to recur.

The IDF must continue to pursue Hezbollah operatives, their weapons caches, their command centers, and all their various infrastructures, but our war must be against Hezbollah, not against the Lebanese people or the state of Lebanon.

The Lebanese leadership, led by President Joseph Aoun and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, wants to and can today, more than ever before, cooperate in defeating Hezbollah. But when Israel focuses on civilian targets instead of Hezbollah’s infrastructure, it only makes it harder for the new leaders in Beirut      and forces them to stand against Israel instead of being the ones leading the fight against Hezbollah. Aoun and Salam took a major step this week in countering Iranian influence in Lebanon by expelling Iran’s ambassador.

But when Israel focuses on civilian targets instead of Hezbollah’s infrastructure, it only makes things harder for her and forces her to stand against Israel instead of being the one leading the fight against Hezbollah.

Instead of bombing bridges, Israel should build bridges to the entire Arab world and Lebanon in particular. We must act in coordination with the Americans, with the French, who still have significant influence in Lebanon, with the Saudis, and with the axis of moderate Arab states to promote a joint action to dry up Hezbollah’s economic and political power sources and neutralize its military capabilities.

With the Iran-backed Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad exiled to Moscow and the Islamic Republic weakened, Hezbollah is more vulnerable than ever. But if Israel continues to pursue a military solution alone, without a diplomatic leg, absent cooperation with the Lebanese government and allies, any victory on the battlefield will be temporary. It would be a matter of time before the cycle of blood repeats.

© The Times of Israel (Blogs)