‘Hezbollah is using inaccurate weapons and putting all Israelis at risk’, says former IDF intelligence officer

We spoke to former Israeli army intelligence officer Sarit Zehavi – from the Alma Research and Education Centre, which focuses  on security issues on Israel’s northern border.

We asked her first if she thought a wider conflict was now more or less likely.

Sarit Zehavi: Truly, I don’t know if it’s more or less likely. All I can say is that it looks like the rationale of Hezbollah is to continue this war of attrition. While we have in Israel 43 empty ghost towns, empty communities, that were evacuated at the beginning of the war. This is a strategic advantage for Hezbollah achievement, and they want to preserve it even with the cost of war. They are willing to take the risk. Israel, on its side, wants to bring the people back to their homes, but safely.

Ciaran Jenkins: In the last hour, the Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah has been speaking. He has been saying that they did not target civilian areas within Israel. Doesn’t that signal that Hezbollah does not want a wider conflict and a wider war?

Sarit Zehavi: This is a complete lie. I am awake since 4:30 a.m. today, first from the IDF attacks and then by Hezbollah. We ran to the shelter. All the people of the Galilee ran to the shelters today. Hezbollah is using inaccurate weapons and then saying that it targeted military bases, and that way it is putting at risk all Israelis that are living up north.

Ciaran Jenkins: Hezbollah were responding, they say, to the assassination of their commander Fuad Shukr. How on earth then does Israel carrying out that assassination make Israelis more safe, if this is the response?

Sarit Zehavi: First, I agree it doesn’t make Israelis more safe just to kill senior commanders of Hezbollah, but eliminating capabilities of Hezbollah will make Israelis more safe.

Ciaran Jenkins: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said this is not the end of the story in terms of Israel’s response to Hezbollah. What is the end of the story?

Sarit Zehavi: No, I want to clarify. It’s not the end of the story, not in terms of the Israeli response. It’s not the end of the story in terms of the question of how do we bring our people back to their homes, living next to the border.

Ciaran Jenkins: Don’t you think that there’s no resolution to the situation in the north of Israel, between Israel and Hezbollah, until there is a ceasefire in Gaza?

Sarit Zehavi: I think it has nothing to do with the ceasefire in Gaza. I will surprise you and I will tell you why. Because even if there will be a ceasefire in Gaza, that will be followed by a ceasefire in the north, in this I believe. It doesn’t mean that we will be able to live here safely. I want an effective mechanism that will make sure that Hezbollah is no longer in south Lebanon. I think this is a very simple demand for the people who are living here.

Ciaran Jenkins: A simple demand, you say, but is it a totally realistic demand? The demand of eliminating Hamas and Hezbollah. It’s just not going to happen, is it?

Sarit Zehavi: So what, are we doomed to live with the risk of the next massacre to our children? Do you think this is acceptable? Would you live like that? I think the international community and the state of Israel can work together, and we already did. We did that in mid-April.