http://www.timesofisrael.com/liberman-slams-netanyahus-decision-to-contain-attack/Liberman slams Netanyahu’s decision to ‘contain’ attack
Foreign minister says weak response destroys deterrence, allows Hezbollah to build up strength
BY TIMES OF ISRAEL STAFF
January 29, 2015
Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman attacked Prime Minister Netanyahu’s decision to “contain” a flare-up along the northern border and not seek a wider confrontation, saying holding back harms Israel’s deterrent capabilities.
“Those who say we must wait and ‘contain’ the event are in effect allowing Hezbollah to build up its strength and amass deadly weapons to use against us at any given time,” Liberman wrote in a Facebook post Thursday, claiming “it’s time to remove our gloves in dealing with terror.”
Liberman, an outspoken proponent of Israel waging war to oust Hamas from Gaza over the summer, pointed to that seven-week-long offensive as an example of ineffective deterrence.
“This isn’t deterrence, it’s turning a blind eye,” Liberman wrote, indicating Hezbollah’s actions were a direct consequence of Netanyahu’s decisions.
“This is exactly the result I opposed in Operation Protective Edge and today we see how Hezbollah, after years during it which it really was deterred by the hits it sustained in the Second Lebanon War, we see how this deterrence was shattered because of what [Hezbollah] saw happen in Operation Protective Edge.”
On Wednesday, Liberman, currently in China on a state visit, called for a “very harsh and disproportionate” response to the killing of two soldiers in that day’s cross-border attack. Some analysts saw the comment as the foreign minister attempting to flex his muscles ahead of election, with polls showing his Yisrael Beytenu party barely squeaking back into the Knesset.
On Thursday, Israeli officials indicated the round of violence with Hezbollah had ended, with neither side looking for an escalation.
After the deadly attack on the Israel convoy traveling near the border, Israel shelled southern Lebanon, killing a United Nations peacekeeper but causing little damage to Hezbollah.
Hezbollah’s attack came as a reprisal for an airstrike in Syria on January 18 that left several Hezbollah fighters and an Iranian general dead, and immediately ramped up tensions along the northern border. Israel has not confirmed it was behind that strike.
Israeli soldiers seen being taken care of when an Israeli army patrol came under anti-tank fire from Hezbollah operatives in the northern Mount Dov region along the Israeli border with Lebanon on January 28, 2015. (Photo credit: Basal Awidat/Flash90)
Israeli soldiers seen being taken care of when an Israeli army patrol came under anti-tank fire from Hezbollah operatives in the northern Mount Dov region along the Israeli border with Lebanon on January 28, 2015. (photo credit: Basal Awidat/Flash90)
Earlier Thursday, Hezbollah conveyed to Israel through the UN force in southern Lebanon that it was not interested in escalating the tensions on the Israel-Lebanon border.
“UNIFIL sent us a message that as far as [Hezbollah] is concerned the incident is over,” Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon confirmed Thursday morning in an interview with Israel Radio.
“I don’t know if the events are behind us,” Ya’alon warned, however, adding, “The IDF is ready, deployed for any development. Our long arm knows how to reach wherever is necessary. Anyone who tries to attack us is signing their own death warrant.”
Yisrael Beytenu took a steep downturn Wednesday amid corruption allegations, with a Channel 10 poll predicting it will receive a mere 4 seats compared to the 13 it holds in the outgoing Knesset.
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