Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu did not respond to the France and US-backed proposal that called for a temporary truce in the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon. (Image: REUTERS)
Benjamin Netanyahu ordered his army to keep fighting Hezbollah in Lebanon ignoring the US-France-backed truce plea while his two of his top ministers rejected the deal entirely.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu landed in New York ahead of his speech at the UN General Assembly while his nation’s army carried out fresh airstrikes in Lebanon’s Beirut’s Hezbollah hideouts, killing its drone commander Abu Saleh.
Netanyahu appeared to snub a temporary truce plan floated by the United States, European Union and other allies including several Arab states which proposed a 21-day halt in fighting in Lebanon after Israeli air strikes on Iran-backed Hezbollah killed hundreds and displaced tens of thousands in Lebanon this week.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Thursday morning (Canadian local time) in a fresh plea called for an immediate ceasefire along the Lebanon-Israel border.
He said ‘we will support all diplomatic efforts towards de-escalation and a peaceful resolution’ in an apparent reference to the US-France-EU-backed peace proposal.
Netanyahu, however, said Israel will ‘hit Hezbollah with’ all its might. “Our policy is clear – we continue to hit Hezbollah with all our might. We will not stop until we achieve all of our goals, first of all returning the residents of the north safely to their homes. This is the policy and no one should make a mistake about that,” he said.
Israeli Ministers Threaten PM
The Israeli PM is in the government with a coalition. He relies on the support of far-right members who consistently opposed a truce in the Gaza war, which has not stopped.
A minister, from the far-right, has threatened that he will quit the Netanyahu cabinet, if the Israeli PM agrees to the proposed truce plan.
“If a temporary ceasefire with Hezbollah is signed, the (Jewish Power) faction will not fulfil all coalition obligations — this includes voting, attending government and cabinet meetings, and any coalition activities,” Itamar Ben Gvir said in a party statement, while vowing to resign altogether if a ceasefire became permanent.
Key ministers Itamar Ben-Gvit, who heads the national security portfolio, along with finance minister Bezalel Smotrich, both far-right politicians have expressed their disapproval of the peace plan. Netanyahu has relied on these two and their parties to stay in power.
Smotrich insisted that continuing the war against Hezbollah was the only way forward.
Foreign Minister Israel Katz also opposed any halt to fighting.
“There will be no ceasefire in the north. We will continue to fight against the Hezbollah terrorist organisation with all our strength until victory and the safe return of the residents of the north to their homes,” Katz said.
Residents Fear October 7 Repeat
Residents living in northern Israel, who have been impacted by the conflict between Hezbollah and Israel, have said ceasefire plans like the one proposed by US and France would only ensure that terror attacks like the one of October 7, happens again.
“This government of Benjamin Netanyahu must remove the threat of another October 7 next year. (The government) has all the support it needs (to fight Hezbollah and such a situation) must not happen (again),” Metula Regional Council chairman David Azulai was quoted as saying by the Jerusalem Post.
“They want to do exactly what Hamas did in the south on October 7,” he further added.
Another regional lawmaker told the outlet that this ‘was not a time for negotiations’.
“This is a time for war! We must not be misled by international pressure,” Amir Sofer said.
Israel earlier this month said it was shifting its focus from Gaza, where it has been fighting a war with Hamas since the October 7 attack, to securing its border with Lebanon.
