The Lebanon Lesson: Why Israel Should Avoid Another Withdrawal

The article argues that Israel must not repeat what it calls the mistakes of past pullbacks in Lebanon and should instead maintain and deepen a security zone in the south. It says the current fear in Israel is a return to a static, vulnerable buffer area that would invite roadside bombs and ambushes against soldiers, as happened before. The writer frames the issue as a strategic lesson from the past, warning against what he describes as “retreat, folding and surrender.”

The piece says Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu must reject any pressure from U.S. President Donald Trump to reduce Israeli activity in Lebanon or withdraw from the area. It claims Netanyahu should explain that Israel, unlike the United States, has an existential need to keep hostile forces away from its border communities. The article also argues that security for northern residents is not something to be negotiated with political operators or with an opposition it calls disconnected.

According to the article, the Israel Defense Forces have already pushed Hezbollah northward and reduced the threat of raids and direct fire on northern towns, but the goal now should be to preserve and expand that achievement. It calls on the defense minister to order IDF Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir and field commanders to act aggressively, saying they must “eliminate every threat” and constantly initiate contact. The writer says the IDF should once again be the “neighborhood bully” in Lebanon.

The article also insists Israel should remain entrenched in southern Lebanon and, in the future, even annex parts of it. It cites recent gains on the Al-Tahir ridge, which it says overlooks Metula and the Upper Galilee, and says operations should continue until victory. One unresolved threat it mentions is drone attacks, which it says do not yet have a solution, though it expects Israeli ingenuity to find one.