by Yoav Limor
There are those on the Lebanese side of the border who seek to set new rules for the regional game, and Israel has to be proactive to stop them.
Five incidents in, it is hard to call rocket fire from Lebanon into Israel "errant." It is also hard to do come to the conclusion that tensions on the northern border must be dealt with immediately.
Prior to Wednesday's episode, some in Israel were comfortable with pegging such rocket fire as incidental. Three of the firings took place during Operation Guardian of the Walls, clearly in solidarity with Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, and the fourth followed an alleged Israeli strike on Iranian assets in Syria.
In any case, these officials argued, no injuries or damage were reported and while such rocket fire is a nuisance, it's hardly the end of the world and definitely not something for which Israel should risk full-scale war.
Wednesday's rocket fire, however, requires a rebook of the thought process if only for the fact that the passive containment policy – which began with Former PM Benjamin Netanyahu's government and has so far carried through to Prime Minister Naftali Bennett's coalition – can no longer stand.
Israel has to judge these events by their motive – not their result. Whoever fired the rockets on Kiryat Shemona sought to kill and it was only pure luck that they failed. Next time, we might not be so lucky.
This escalation means that Israel has to adopt a proactive policy and track whoever fired these rockets. It is likely these are the same culprits as before and Israel has to make sure it stops them, permanently.
In fact, it's unclear why this hasn't happened yet. Israeli intelligence has cracked more complicated challenges than a few Palestinians operating from one of the cities in southern Lebanon.
The fact that the shooting continues puts the residents of the northern community in danger, and even more so, it poses a risk to Israel, which may get find itself dealing with a spiraling security event as a result of an insignificant tactical incident.
While the military mounted a forceful response, it's doubtful the message got through. Whoever fired these rockets is clearly not impressed by IDF shelling or Israeli politicians' belligerence.
The only way to end this – and along the way send a clear message to anyone else in the area who is toying with similar ideas – is to hit them in a surgical manner, and soon.
In recent weeks, quite a few theories have been heard around the rocket fire from Lebanon. Some allege that Hezbollah endorses them, or that Hamas directs them from Gaza, or both. If there is information that confirms any such claims, Israel must make it public immediately.
The people of Lebanon must know that Hezbollah risks plunging their country – currently facing the most dire economic and political crisis in its history – into war, and the Palestinians in Gaza must know that Yahya Sinwar and his ilk might drag them into a fresh round of fighting as well.
Yoav Limor
Source: https://www.israelhayom.com/opinions/this-is-no-time-for-passive-policies/
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