For the fourth time in its history, Israeli troops are invading Lebanon, once again under the pretext of "defending the north of Israel." Although the enemy has changed and the "north" has now expanded all the way to Tel Aviv, the Israeli government is relying on the same tactics that have consistently failed to resolve the ongoing conflict—a problem that stubbornly persists. In 1978, 1982, 2006, and again today, Israel has deployed its military, sowing chaos and destruction under the misguided belief that this will lead to positive political outcomes.
Israel's 1982 Lebanon Invasion: Rise of Hezbollah
In 1982, Israel launched an invasion of Lebanon after years of rocket attacks on towns near the border. The event that triggered the invasion was the assassination of an Israeli diplomat in London by the PLO. Although the government officially sanctioned a limited-scale operation, Israeli forces advanced all the way to Beirut. Ariel Sharon, then Minister of Defense, had planned to orchestrate a regime change by installing a Christian militia leader as president. The Israeli army enabled Christian militias to carry out a horrific massacre of Palestinian refugees. Although the PLO was ultimately expelled from Lebanon, Hezbollah soon emerged in its place as a resistance movement against Israel’s occupation of southern Lebanon.
No Gains, Only Growing Resistance
In 1992, Israel assassinated Hezbollah leader Abbas al-Musawi in an attempt to cripple the organization. Instead, Hassan Nasrallah rose to power, and the resistance against Israel only grew stronger. Israel remained in southern Lebanon until 2000, fighting the very resistance movement it had helped create. The war yielded no strategic gains, and Israel ultimately abandoned its Christian allies, leaving the border more volatile than ever. In 2006, following an attack on Israeli soldiers patrolling the border, another war erupted, devastating southern Lebanon. For years, Israeli officials boasted about the supposed achievements of that war, claiming Hezbollah had been neutralized. In hindsight, this was nothing but a delusion.
Escalation in Lebanon: History Repeats, Peace Remains Elusive
Since October 7th, residents in northern Israel have been enduring immense suffering. Most have been displaced from their homes, while those who remain face daily rocket attacks. In response, the right-wing settler government has escalated the situation by targeting Hassan Nasrallah and other Hezbollah leaders for assassination. The Israeli public, cheering these actions, remains oblivious to the futility of this approach, as history has repeatedly shown. Once again, there are talks of occupying a portion of southern Lebanon and driving out Hezbollah, with promises of restoring peace and security to the region. Yet, this is merely a repetition of past mistakes, with the same disastrous results expected.
Force Over Diplomacy: Israel’s Cycle of Repeated Mistakes
This ongoing folly is a result of the increasingly limited political imagination among most Israelis. In 1982, following the invasion of Lebanon, the author S. Yizhar observed: "The reason that led to the Lebanon War was the recognition, or perspective, or belief, that only force can provide a proper solution, that only the use of force, in its full capacity, would bring about a sufficient resolution. This worldview holds that, among all the ways to solve problems, force is the most efficient, purposeful, and the perfect solution—once and for all. Meanwhile, all other diplomatic methods only dilute the solution and put everyone at risk." Sadly, these words still resonate today, and it seems we are doomed to repeat the same mistakes endlessly.
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