In subtle but increasingly vocal ways, Israel\u2019s military leaders are signaling that the country has achieved all it can militarily in Lebanon and Gaza, and it\u2019s time for the politicians to strike a deal. <\/p>\n
It comes as Lebanon\u2019s prime minister says that a ceasefire between Hezbollah and Israel could be imminent. Both candidates for the American presidency have also made clear they do not want wars in Gaza and Lebanon to be on the agenda when they take office. <\/p>\n
When the Israel Defense Forces\u2019 top general sat down with officers in northern Gaza \u2013 who are waging one of the military\u2019s fiercest operations since last year\u2019s invasion \u2013 he went further than ever in suggesting the military phases of both conflicts should end. <\/p>\n
\u201cIn the north, there\u2019s a possibility of reaching a sharp conclusion,\u201d Herzi Halevi, Chief of the General Staff, said, referring to the war against Hezbollah in Lebanon. In Gaza, he said, \u201cif we take out the northern Gaza Brigade commander, it\u2019s another collapse\u2026. I don\u2019t know what we\u2019ll encounter tomorrow, but this pressure brings us closer to more achievements.\u201d <\/p>\n
What those achievements should be is the subject of much consternation. <\/p>\n
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has repeatedly pledged \u201cabsolute victory.\u201d His defense minister and longtime political tormentor Yoav Gallant has bristled at that goal. In August, he told a closed-door parliamentary committee meeting that the idea of \u201cabsolute victory\u201d in Gaza was \u201cnonsense,\u201d according to Israeli media. <\/p>\n
Gallant\u2019s dim view of Netanyahu\u2019s war goal was made official when earlier this week he reportedly sent a private memo to the prime minister and the rest of his cabinet saying that the war had lost its way. <\/p>\n
In Gaza, he wrote, Israel should ensure the release of the remaining hostages, make sure there is no military threat from Hamas, and promote civilian rule. That\u2019s a far cry from the existing, maximalist war aim of eliminating Hamas\u2019 military and governance capabilities. <\/p>\n
Lebanon\u2019s caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati said Wednesday he was optimistic for a potential Hezbollah-Israel ceasefire to be struck \u201cwithin the next few hours or days,\u201d after speaking with US envoy Amos Hochstein, who arrived in the region on Thursday. <\/p>\n
Israel has for the past month carried out a massive, country-wide bombing campaign in Lebanon, and killed Hezbollah\u2019s elusive leader, Hassan Nasrallah. In his interview, Mikati indicated that Hezbollah is no longer insisting that its conflict with Israel will only cease once the war in Gaza ends. That would allow it to accept a ceasefire without an end to the Gaza campaign. <\/p>\n
Gallant has said Hamas and Hezbollah have now been rendered totally ineffective as Iranian proxies. <\/p>\n
\u201cThese two organizations, Hamas and Hezbollah, that were groomed for years as a long arm against the State of Israel, are no longer an effective tool in the hands of Iran,\u201d Gallant said during a memorial service on Sunday. \u201cWe know that some goals cannot be achieved by military action alone, and thus, we must honor our moral obligations to bring our captives home, despite the painful compromises involved.\u201d <\/p>\n
And yet Netanyahu has remained defiant. When the Knesset, Israel\u2019s parliament, returned from recess this week, the prime minister seemed to repeat his maximalist goal, and indicated he was unlikely to accept a conclusion anytime soon: \u201cThe absolute victory is an orderly and consistent work plan that we fulfill step by step,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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