AN ILLUSORY QUIET: WHAT’S REALLY HAPPENING ON THE LEBANESE BORDER?

Back in the early days of the IDF, there were Special Forces, such as Unit 101, made up of courageous elite fighters. They would go out on retaliatory missions in response to any terror attacks against Jews, bringing the war to the doorstep of our enemies. When one of these fighters, Yitzchak Jibli, of blessed memory, was taken hostage during military activities, his friends went out on their own operation and captured forty terrorists, holding them until Jibli’s release. Today, only the other side is displaying this kind of grit and determination, while retaliatory measures are no longer part of the IDF’s lexicon.

By Sholom Ber Crombie
Translated by Michoel Leib Dobry

1.

The incident last Sunday in Rosh HaNikra has revealed once again the silent scream behind the idyllic quiet reigning on Eretz Yisroel’s northern border. It would seem that since the Second Lebanon War more than seven years ago there have been no unusual occurrences affecting the Jewish population in the north. The residents of Kiryat Shmona have called these years the quietest they have experienced since the city’s founding. However, this calm is actually quite hollow in nature. Behind the apparent tranquility is the widespread digging of tunnels, as each side prepares for the next round. To put it simply, everyone is getting ready for war.

The Israel Defense Forces are certain: The next round is coming. Israeli intelligence services are constantly working to locate every tunnel, every movement, and every new base situated in a village with a civilian population. They are certain that when it comes to a moment of truth, the IDF can destroy all the Hezbollah missile launch sites threatening to paralyze the Jewish homeland – within a few hours. 

The IDF wants to repeat the dizzying success of the Second Lebanon War, when they eliminated all of the Hezbollah’s long-range missiles within twenty-four hours. 

This decision had been made by then-minister of defense, Amir Peretz. While he wasn’t a high-ranking general, he did understand that the greatest threat was not the prevailing rocket barrage on northern residents, but the Hezbollah’s potential power of maintaining a threat over the residents of Tel Aviv and throughout the heart of the country with its longer range missiles. 

This time, however, Hezbollah has armed itself far more heavily than before. We’re not just talking about a few batteries that could be destroyed in one blow; this is a virtual army that has been built up over the past decade. 

2.

The shooting that cut short the life of Staff Sgt. Major Shlomi Cohen, may G-d avenge his blood, was not carried out by a Hezbollah terrorist, but by a soldier in the Lebanese Army. In the past, the Lebanese Army was considered to be a fictitious entity, not an actual fighting force. However, since the IDF withdrawal from Lebanon thirteen years ago, and especially since the conclusion of the Second Lebanon War, its presence today is more apparent. The problem is that Lebanon’s military structure has no regulations. Under such circumstances, all it takes is one psychopath to ignite a regional conflict.

The danger in the north had actually become an actual threat when the IDF left southern Lebanon and the Lebanese villages sitting on the border fence came under Hezbollah control. These villages are located directly next to Israeli kibbutzim and moshavim, separated only by the border fence. 

Strange, but true, the IDF once controlled these villages, but they were afraid to exercise their control over them. The army was in Lebanon, but the country’s political leaders tied the military’s hands as the terrorists managed to defeat the most powerful armed force in the Middle East. Car bombs and other terrorist attacks transformed Lebanon into a minefield. At the time, it was the “Four Mothers” who vanquished the IDF. They managed to overpower then-Prime Minister Ehud Olmert in their effort to extricate the army from the Lebanon quagmire. Yet, instead of conquering southern Lebanon and maintaining full control over the region, the IDF chose the easy way out and simply withdrew. While the lives of soldiers serving there were saved, we paid a heavy price with the deaths of more than one hundred people in the Second Lebanon War. 

3.

To a large extent, the unilateral withdrawal of Israeli forces from Lebanon created a state of imbalance throughout the Middle East. It strengthened the Damascus-Beirut-Tehran axis and has turned Hezbollah into the unquestioned ruler of south Lebanon. UNIFIL forces on duty in the region as part of the ceasefire agreement, hammered out by then-Foreign Minister Tzippi Livni at the conclusion of the Second Lebanon War, have not really succeeded in becoming the dominant force in the area. Their presence is more window-dressing than an actual power of influence over what’s happening along the Israel-Lebanon border. 

The Second Lebanon War broke out as a result of the Israeli weakness displayed at Gush Katif. This is the opinion of all reliable military experts, including prominent generals, who have stated this position in both public and private forums. However, the Gush Katif expulsion was also the result of the IDF’s retreat from Lebanon five years earlier. Israeli groveling has given terrorists the sweet smell of victory and has also created a new equation for the region: Terrorism can defeat the Israel Defense Forces.

The security situation today in the Middle East is at a very low ebb, and those considered most reliable for our security have been busy preparing for the dismantling of more settlements and for new terrorists along our borders. In the north, we have enabled the bringing of Hezbollah flags into our villages. The ones responsible for this situation where any Lebanese soldier can cause injury to Israeli citizens at very close range are the same ones who gave the orders to pull out of Lebanon. The decision has brought us terror – and this equation has never changed.

Back in the early days of the IDF, there were Special Forces such as Unit 101, made up of courageous elite fighters such as Meir Har-Tzion and Shimon “Kushi” Rimon. They would go out on retaliatory missions in response to any terror attacks against Jews, bringing the war to the doorstep of our enemies. When one of these fighters, Yitzchak Jibli, of blessed memory, was taken hostage during military activities, his friends went out on their own operation and captured forty terrorists, holding them until Jibli’s release. Today, only the other side is displaying this kind of grit and determination, while retaliatory measures are no longer part of the IDF’s lexicon. If that’s the way the army sees it, it’s no wonder that one withdrawal brings on another withdrawal, as the IDF deals only with defensive operations.

4.

The Israeli defense establishment today operates primarily on the defensive. No one is making an examination of the current state of affairs, asking what will occur if we fail to take concrete action and allow enemy forces to take strategic positions along our borders. The fear of initiating military operations is so intimidating that it paralyzes the Cabinet from deciding on appropriate action.

The situation prevailing today is frighteningly reminiscent of what was happening on the eve of the Second Lebanon War. While the border was quiet, the enemy was digging underground bunkers and preparing for war. We must bring about a serious change in the nation’s way of thinking. Otherwise, Israeli policymakers will continue emphasizing the investment of billions in defense systems such as “Iron Dome,” instead of creating Special Forces such as Unit 101, which will unabashedly take reciprocal measures.

The great concern over the kidnapping of another soldier along the border also demonstrates Zionist insanity at its very worst. Instead of the enemy being afraid more than ever, we are the ones in a constant state of fear. This is because according to those in charge of the nation’s foreign policy, a kidnapping always means the release of more terrorists. No one is even trying to modify this equation and proclaim that if there’s anyone who should be afraid of a kidnapping, it’s them – not us. They must be made to understand that if they take even one soldier hostage, the entire Hamas leadership will be in danger of becoming captives themselves.

Successive Israeli governments have failed to place red lines before the terrorist organizations. Thus, when the murder of Jewish soldiers passes quietly time after time, there is no logical reason for anyone on the other side to fear us at all. The tragic event that took place last week in Rosh HaNikra should prompt us to change the rules of the game and show our enemies that Jewish blood is not cheap. If anyone should be the target on the firing line now, it’s those who carry weapons and use them against us.

To provide true security for the Jewish People, we must be prepared to conduct ourselves in accordance with the Jewish moral principle of, “When someone comes to slay you, slay him first.” In this manner, we will merit the Torah’s promise, “And you shall dwell in security in your land,” until the True and Complete Redemption.