Former National Security Council head Prof. Yaakov Nagel warned in an interview with Yaakov Bardugo that Israel should not withdraw too quickly from the security zone in Lebanon. He said an early pullback could create a dangerous precedent that would affect other fronts as well. “I am afraid of the slippery slope,” Nagel said, adding that if Israel leaves Lebanon before its security is guaranteed, or before Hezbollah disarms, “we could find ourselves in a problematic situation.”
Nagel argued that Hezbollah is unlikely to disarm while negotiations between Iran and the United States continue. He said Iran is waiting for such developments and suggested that any Israeli retreat could become part of a broader pressure campaign.
According to Nagel, Tehran uses the connection between global shipping freedom and local battlefield issues as an effective tool of extortion against the West, with Israel likely to bear the cost if it does not stand firm. He described the mechanism this way: Iran could tell negotiators, “The Strait of Hormuz is important to you? Then let Israel withdraw from Lebanon.”
He warned that if such demands succeed, the pressure could expand beyond Lebanon to Gaza, then Judea and Samaria, and later to other issues. Nagel concluded that Israel is a strong and resilient state that can hold to its security principles.
