Destruction in Nabatieh, South Lebanon, following the July 2006 war. (Credit: L'Orient-Le Jour archives)
The US envoy Amos Hochstein’s most recent visit to Beirut sounded a final warning before a possible large-scale Israeli military intervention in Lebanon. On June 18, the Israeli army said that it had validated plans for its offensive, while Israeli officials have been threatening action for months. On June 19, Hezbollah’s Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah spoke of the risk of a regional war, detailing the contours of such a war, while making it clear that he did not want it. Barring a major surprise, Hezbollah will do its utmost to keep the conflict limited to a “support front” for Gaza, aware that an all-out war would be disastrous for Lebanon. But Israel has other calculations. It wants to impose a new status quo at the border, by creating a security zone, and it must deal with the domestic pressure placed by almost 100,000 Israelis,...
The US envoy Amos Hochstein’s most recent visit to Beirut sounded a final warning before a possible large-scale Israeli military intervention in Lebanon. On June 18, the Israeli army said that it had validated plans for its offensive, while Israeli officials have been threatening action for months. On June 19, Hezbollah’s Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah spoke of the risk of a regional war, detailing the contours of such a war, while making it clear that he did not want it. Barring a major surprise, Hezbollah will do its utmost to keep the conflict limited to a “support front” for Gaza, aware that an all-out war would be disastrous for Lebanon. But Israel has other calculations. It wants to impose a new status quo at the border, by creating a security zone, and it must deal with the domestic pressure placed by almost 100,000...
