The road to peace with Lebanon is long, “but we have begun,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said, referring to the ceasefire in Lebanon.
“One hand holds a gun, the other tends toward peace,” Netanyahu said in a videotaped statement, defending his decision to accept a 10-day ceasefire with Lebanon.
At the request of US President Donald Trump, Netanyahu says, “we are providing an opportunity to advance a combined diplomatic and military solution with the Lebanese government.”
But the fight against Hezbollah is not over, Netanyahu insists.
“I will say frankly, we haven’t finished the job,” Netanyahu continues. “There are things we plan to do about the residual threat from rockets and the threat from drones, which I won’t go into detail.”
Israel is also working on “dismantling” Hezbollah, he says, “but that won’t be achieved tomorrow. It requires continued effort, patience and careful navigation of the diplomatic arena.”
