On Thursday’s broadcast of the Fox News Channel’s “America Reports,” Israeli Ambassador to the United Nations Danny Danon stated that “The only force that can dismantle Hezbollah is the IDF,” and we have to be “realistic that the government of Lebanon, they don’t have full control over Lebanon.”
Danon said, “[W]e have no beef with Lebanon or with the Lebanese people, we have issues with Hezbollah. And I think today we realized we have the same goal, we want Hezbollah out of Lebanon, period. When I say we, it’s the Israelis and the Lebanese. There will be a ceasefire starting at 5 p.m. Eastern Standard Time. Hopefully, we will continue to speak with the Lebanese. But we have to be, also, realistic that the government of Lebanon, they don’t have full control over Lebanon. … So, let’s hope that the Lebanese government will have the strength, the determination to finally gain control over Lebanon.”
Co-host John Roberts then asked, “So, let’s look back at history, 1982, Israel successfully pressured Lebanon to expel the PLO. They expelled them to Tunisia. They eventually returned at some point. But Hezbollah is a very different entity than the PLO was back then. And in fact, if you were to go into a head-on fight, Hezbollah against the Lebanese military, Hezbollah would probably come out on top. So, where does Lebanon get the leverage to be able to A. Dismantle Hezbollah and B. Kick it out of the country?”
Danon answered, “You’re absolutely right, John. The only force that can dismantle Hezbollah is the IDF, and that’s what we have been doing. And we will have to speak directly with the Lebanese about that. They have very limited capability. You mentioned 1982, but we had a ceasefire agreement with Lebanon earlier in 2024, in November. And, according to that agreement we signed with them, they were supposed to go to southern Lebanon, take out the launchers, push Hezbollah from those locations, and defend. They didn’t do it. So, we have to be cautious about what we are doing, what we are signing, but, hopefully, we want to see Lebanon independent and Hezbollah and Iran out of Lebanon.”
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