We’re ‘Only Force That Can Dismantle Hezbollah’, Lebanese Gov’t Lacks ‘Full Control’
On Thursday’s broadcast of Fox News’ America Reports, Israeli Ambassador to the United Nations Danny Danon said that “the only force that can dismantle Hezbollah is the Israeli army,” and we must be “realistic: the government of Lebanon does not have total control of Lebanon.”
Danon said:[W]We have no problem with Lebanon or with the Lebanese people, we have problems with Hezbollah. And I think today we realized that we have the same goal: we want Hezbollah to leave Lebanon, period. When I say we, I mean the Israelis and the Lebanese. There will be a ceasefire starting at 5 p.m. Eastern Standard Time. Hopefully we will continue to talk with the Lebanese. But we must also be realistic that the Lebanese government does not have total control over Lebanon. …Let us therefore hope that the Lebanese government will have the strength and determination necessary to finally take control of Lebanon.”
Co-host John Roberts then asked: “So, let’s go back to the story. In 1982, Israel was successful in pressuring Lebanon to expel the PLO. They expelled them to Tunisia. They eventually came back at some point. But Hezbollah is a very different entity than the PLO at the time. And in fact, if you were to get into a head-on fight, Hezbollah versus the army Lebanese, Hezbollah would likely emerge victorious So where does Lebanon get the leverage to be able to A. dismantle Hezbollah and B. expel it from the country?
Danon responded: “You’re absolutely right, John. The only force that can dismantle Hezbollah is the Israeli army, and that’s what we did. And we’ll have to talk to the Lebanese about it directly. They have very limited capabilities. You mentioned 1982, but we reached a ceasefire agreement with Lebanon earlier in 2024, in November. And, according to that agreement that we signed with them, they were supposed to surrender in southern Lebanon, destroy the launchers, push So we have to be careful about what we do, what we sign, but we hope to see independent Lebanon and Hezbollah and Iran leave Lebanon.”
Follow Ian Hanchett on Twitter @IanHanchett
