Hezbollah was supposed to have abided by Resolution 1701, which would have required it to retreat from the border with Israel to the Litani River in Lebanon.
By Shula Rosen
A group of residents of communities in northern Israel is lobbying for the enforcement of a buffer zone between Lebanon and Israel as the sole prevention of an invasion similar to October 7th from happening on the northern border.
According to a truce that ended the Second Lebanon War in 2006, Hezbollah was supposed to have abided by Resolution 1701, which would have required it to retreat from the border with Israel to the Litani River in Lebanon.
The creation of this demilitarized buffer zone was agreed upon by the US, France, and the United Nations, but Hezbollah has made no such retreat and has openly defied Resolution 1701 for the last 17 years.
During this time, Hezbollah has fired an estimated 150,000 rockets into Israel.
Immediately after Hamas invaded the southern border on October 7th, Hezbollah began firing missiles into Israel which led to the displacement of 80,000 residents of the north and the evacuation of 43 communities in the Upper Galilee.
In response, the Lobby 1701 group was formed to demand compliance with the UN resolution either through diplomatic means or if necessary, by force.
One member, Kiryat Shmona resident Bat-Hen Lavi, told i24, “We’re kicked out of our homes.”
They added, “If the UN is unable to back this resolution to guarantee our safety, then we will press the government to solve it by military means.”
Although the US and French mediators have attempted to find a diplomatic solution to the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah, the terror group has escalated its attacks, and there is some indication it is being spurred on toward war by its Iranian backers.
Meanwhile, the Hezbollah missiles have claimed Israeli civilian casualties and soldiers in the north and have destroyed buildings and homes.
Metula Mayor David Azulay has seen 130 homes in his town damaged by Hezbollah, and told The Times of Israel, “The government doesn’t see the north.“
They don’t help us with our economy, our culture or our security. We continue to be rocketed. Nobody tells us anything, and we’re left in the dark.”
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