Israel to US: "The pilot project in southern Lebanon has failed"
Jerusalem conveyed a message to Washington through security channels, expressing dissatisfaction with the Lebanese Army's conduct against Hezbollah's terrorist infrastructure. According to security sources, the Lebanese Army is not destroying infrastructure at the coordinates provided by the IDF, yet continues to request additional points.
Israel has conveyed a message to the United States through security channels stating that the pilot project in southern Lebanon, which began following the signing of a memorandum of understanding between Beirut and Jerusalem, has failed. This was learned today, Thursday, by Walla.
Israel provided information regarding the activities of the Lebanese Army and expressed its dissatisfaction with its conduct against Hezbollah's terrorist infrastructure and militants in the area. According to security sources, "the Lebanese Army is not destroying terrorist infrastructure at the coordinates provided to it by the IDF, and at the same time is requesting more coordinates, even though it is not doing anything about the matter."
The IDF has criticized the performance of the Lebanese Army, asserting that it is not acting effectively against Hezbollah infrastructure in the south of the country. According to estimates, even Iran, which previously provided the organization with significant backing, is currently preoccupied with its own survival and is not rushing to its aid.
Senior IDF officials assess that the Chief of Staff of the Lebanese Army, Rudolph Haykal, continues to cooperate with Hezbollah, fears a confrontation with the commanders of the Shiite organization in southern Lebanon, and is ineffective in search operations, locating terrorist infrastructure, and seizing weapons.
"There is no real friction between the Lebanese Army and Hezbollah, which would not want anyone to collect its weapons or destroy its infrastructure," said a senior security official.
According to the official, "the Lebanese Chief of Staff is not going out of his way. There is no real enforcement. The Lebanese Army is more busy with coordination."
"It is clear that Israel is not satisfied, and therefore is not rushing to agree on additional pilot areas," he clarified. The official added:
"The Lebanese Army arrived at a point, entered the underground opening a few meters, turned around, and left. They did not dare to enter. We estimate that they will not handle anything, even though they insist on receiving more coordinates."
