The Israeli army threatens to invade southern Lebanon. A right-wing organization would prefer to build settlements there. But that’s unrealistic.
Lebanon, 07.06. 2024: A destroyed building in the Israel-Lebanon border area Photo: Taher Abu Hamdan/dpa
It has not yet been decided whether the Israeli army will actually go to war to invade southern Lebanon – and whether the conflict, which has been simmering with varying degrees of intensity since October, will spiral into full-blown war. But on Israel’s right-wing fringe are the heads of those who are They not only want to conquer southern Lebanon, but also colonize it.
The Uri Tzafon organization will invite people via Zoom on Monday to the “first conference on the settlement of South Lebanon”. Among other things, ‘the settlement of Lebanon from a legal perspective’, ‘successful settlement models from the past’ and ‘Lebanon in the Bible’ will be discussed.
Uri Tzafon has already communicated his plans to the residents of southern Lebanon – and according to his own statements last week Balloons and drones sent towards southern Lebanonwith eviction notices in Arabic and Hebrew.
Uri Tzafon states that this requires a settlement to create peace in northern Israel. Apart from the fact that the consequences for Lebanese citizens would be devastating, this argument does not stand up to scrutiny. The West Bank is criss-crossed by Israeli settlements. Have they increased the security of the people of Israel? Hardly likely. Instead, the cycle of violence was further fueled, in part because of Palestinians’ understandable frustration over land grabs, hours-long waits at checkpoints and settler violence.
Suppose The army would invade Lebanon at all – is the settlement realistic? Rather not. This is still too far-right a position. Nevertheless, a conference like the one Uri Tzafon announced ultimately pushes the boundaries of what is conceivable. If you look at Israel’s political landscape, you can see that what was truly right-wing twenty years ago is now socially acceptable. And those who hold these views are no longer just in the Knesset, but also in the government.