Politico reported that American officials have warned the Israeli government that the strategy it is pursuing with Hezbollah could quickly push the region towards war, revealing for the first time in nearly a year a difference Screaming In views on dealing with Hezbollah.
The site explained – in a report by Erin Banco – that the United States told Israel that a diplomatic solution with Hezbollah was still possible, and that the military campaign could hinder this effort, but Israel moved forward anyway.
While Israeli officials have not ruled out pushing Washington to reach a diplomatic agreement, they have disagreed with it on how to reach an agreement. An Israeli official, who preferred to remain anonymous, said they made it clear to the United States that it was time to “escalate in order to de-escalate,” meaning hitting Hezbollah hard to force it to participate in talks to end the conflict.
The website pointed out that this is the first time that the United States and Israel have differed starkly on how to deal with Hezbollah, which raises questions about the feasibility of the US administration’s plan to reach a diplomatic agreement to end the conflict along Israel’s northern border in the near term.
The United States has been urging Tel Aviv for months to avoid escalating its military campaign in Lebanon, fearing it could inflame tensions in the region and spark a potential war. Israel largely accepted Washington’s diplomatic efforts until late August, when ceasefire talks in Gaza stalled, prompting Israel to seize the opportunity and begin efforts to weaken Hezbollah in the north, the site said.
Continue the campaign
In meetings last week, Israel made clear to Amos Hochstein, a senior adviser to US President Joe Biden, that Hezbollah had shown no signs of wanting to engage in serious diplomatic talks, and that Israel was prepared to intensify the pressure on it.
US officials said they had received no prior warning about last week’s attacks on Hezbollah pagers and radios, sparking a debate within the Biden administration about the effectiveness of the Israeli attacks and the potential for future violence in the region.
Although some White House officials support Israeli military strikes on Hezbollah, others in the Pentagon and the intelligence community are not confident that the strategy will succeed, and some have become increasingly frustrated and uncomfortable with the rising death toll in Lebanon.
So far, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appears intent on continuing the campaign in Lebanon, but escalating violence could drag Israel and Hezbollah into all-out war, a scenario the Biden administration has long tried to avoid.
The website concluded with Biden saying in his last speech at the United Nations General Assembly that a comprehensive war is not in anyone’s interest, and that a solution is still possible, and is the only path to lasting security and allowing the people of the two countries to return to their homes.
