J Street Gravely Concerned by Intensifying Israel-Hezbollah War, Urges Immediate De-Escalation
Tuesday, September 24
J Street is gravely concerned by the danger that the ongoing exchange of fire between Israel and Hezbollah could escalate into a catastrophic full-scale war with millions of Israeli, Lebanese and Palestinian civilians caught in the crossfire.
The situation in northern Israel has been intolerable since Hezbollah began firing rockets last October 8 in support of Hamas’ heinous terror attack the prior day. As a result of Hezbollah’s attacks, tens of thousands of Israelis have been displaced from their homes in the north. Entire towns and villages have become damaged ghost towns. Israel’s response to Hezbollah’s rocket fire has in turn forced tens of thousands of civilians to flee their homes in southern Lebanon.
The Israeli government has a duty and a right under international law to protect its citizens. Facilitating the return of Israelis to their homes is an important national priority. Israelis rightfully believe that Hezbollah must retreat to the north and away from the border in accordance with prior United Nations Security Council resolutions. Negotiating an end to the present fighting will require serious international assurances that any Hezbollah pullback will be permanent and that Israelis can feel safe and confident returning home.
We are deeply concerned, however, that in the absence of a diplomatic resolution, the present escalation could quickly get out of control, spiraling into an all-out regional war in which the losers will be the Israeli, Lebanese and Palestinian people.
The swiftest and surest way to achieve calm and to return both Israeli and Lebanese civilians to their homes is through diplomacy and targeted deterrence, leading to de-escalation. Efforts to de-escalate in the north likely hinge on achieving a ceasefire and hostage release deal with Hamas in the south, making the Biden Administration and its partners’ diplomacy to that end all the more critical.
Escalation and an all-out military confrontation with Hezbollah – possibly bringing in other regional actors as well as the United States – is a nightmare scenario that must be avoided. We urge the Israeli government to consider its next steps extraordinarily carefully and to limit its actions to only those specifically and precisely targeting the very real threats that it faces.
The United States must recognize that, sadly, the Netanyahu government appears uninterested in reaching the diplomatic resolution that is needed. American policy needs to both exert appropriate pressure on Hamas, Iran and Hezbollah, and address Israeli obstructionism, pushing the country’s leaders to see that the surest route to security limits the use of force to the minimum necessary while maximizing diplomacy to resolve underlying conflicts.
“We must be clear-eyed about the threat of further escalation, which could prove devastating for Israel,” said J Street President Jeremy Ben-Ami. “Security officials have already warned that an Israel-Hezbollah war risks overwhelming Israel’s missile defense systems and American troops could be drawn into direct engagement. A Gaza ceasefire and a hostage deal would almost certainly be pushed completely off the agenda."
"The Biden Administration must use all possible leverage to pull the region back from the brink before it’s too late. Reason, sanity and diplomacy must prevail. It is the only path to security for Israelis, Palestinians and Lebanese alike,” Ben-Ami said.
