Illusion in Lebanon: The Lebanese Army is Not the Solution, but the Problem

by Anna Slotzkin, among the founders of the Uri Tzafon (Awaken, O North!) movement, translated by Hillel Fendel.

Israel's political and military establishments seem to have a frighteningly short memory. In fact, we are witness to a dangerous governmental attempt to revive the same old murderous "conception" that brought upon us terrible calamities in the not-so-distant past.

The latest plan for our northern border currently on the table, known by the laundered term "pilot plan" (as if it was not meant to be permanent), proposes the same old recipe that has been tried, with tragic results, in the past: The IDF is to withdraw from the areas it captured in southern Lebanon, the Lebanese Army will take its place there, and the Americans will "supervise" from afar, giving all of us a dangerously misleading sense of security.

In practice, hiding behind the word "pilot" is a very bitter reality: a bona-fide retreat of Israeli forces and an abandonment of strategic pieces of land that the best of our sons, brave IDF warriors, captured with their blood and heroism over the course of almost three years. (Nearly 160 Israelis have been murdered by Hizbullah during this period, including about 40 in 2026.) Two large areas of land have already been turned over to the Lebanese, who this week proposed that two more territories be included in this "pilot." This, despite the fact that the Lebanese Army has never displayed any ability – nor even willingness! – to effectively clash with the Hizbullah terrorists controlling their country. 

Those who try to pass off the Lebanese Army as a "solution" are simply throwing sand into Israeli eyes, and particularly of those of who live in the north. The reality on the ground is becoming more and more obvious, and that is that the Lebanese military is not simply ignoring Hizbullah activity, but is actually actively cooperating with it. Its army is not a sovereign, independent force that can enforce law and order, but rather one that lives and breathes the terrorist organization with which it works hand in hand.

The Lebanese Army refrains from any and all clashes with Hizbullah. Instead, it grants them an umbrella of protection and enable them to remain the true bosses in southern Lebanon. To expect that such an organization will suddenly become a defender of Israel's Galilee is somewhere between stupidity and a downright security disaster.  

We've already gone through this before. We saw what the UN peacekeeping force UNIFIL was worth after UN Resolution 1701 was adopted in 2006. The resolution stipulated the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Lebanon, and the establishment of a buffer zone manned only by the Lebanese military (which cooperated with Hizbullah) and UNIFIL (which became live shields for Hizbullah terrorists). We must not allow our control in southern Lebanon, achieved with blood and tears, to be replaced by another "been there, done that" experiment on the backs of the tens of thousands of Israel who have been displaced from their homes for over a year.

The Uri Tzafon movement seeks to say as clearly as possible that which many are afraid to say aloud: True security for the Galilee and all of Israel will come not from the Lebanese Army, collaborating with Hizbullah, and certainly not from UNIFIL disguised as peacekeepers. It will come only from settlement.

All of Zionist history teaches us this one simple lesson: Where the Jewish plow passes, there's a border and there's security. Withdrawals and understandings will not bring peace. The only solution that is real, ethical, and safe is one that involves complete military control of the areas previously occupied by terrorists – and then wide-ranging Jewish settlement there; yes, there in southern Lebanon. Only land that is settled by Jews can be a true living and breathing security zone, guaranteeing that no other threat will ever arise against the residents of northern Israel.

In fact, steps are being taken in this direction. Families in northern Israel have been crossing the border once in a while, seeking to set some facts, if not on the ground yet, then in our consciousness. Yes, our forces broke through the old border-fence and replaced it with a wall, but in truth, there is no need for either: The best will be that instead of terrorists crossing over into Israel while we tremble passively by, it should be us pioneer settlers who should be crossing northwards, to conquer the inheritance of our forefathers.

These pioneering families are calling upon our government to Wake Up! Instead of investing millions in the construction of walls and fences and new conceptions that simply harm our security and create false illusions of safety and protection and cooperation with the Lebanese Army, let us settle north of the border and grant genuine security to our State.

The time has come to internalize that only settlement in southern Lebanon will bring true security!

Twenty Years After: Legendary Hero's Final Moments Remembered

by Hillel Fendel, former editor of Arutz-7's IsraelNationalNews.com.

The IDF Censor still does not permit his photo to be published, but Lt.-Col. Emanuel Moreno was remembered this week on the 20^th anniversary of his death during the Second Lebanon War. He served in the IDF's most elite unit, Sayeret Matkal (the General Staff Reconnaissance Unit), and is credited with having taken part in the greatest number of operations in the unit's history. 

He is publicly acknowledged to have participated in only two of them: the 1994 abduction of Lebanese terrorist commander Mustafa Dirani, who had held missing Israeli navigator Ron Arad, and the 2003 rescue of taxi driver Eliyahu Gorel, kidnapped by Palestinian terrorists and held near in a village north of Jerusalem.

It was reported this week that one of the few occasions that Moreno considered a personal defeat was shortly after he discovered where kidnapped IDF soldier Gilad Shalit was being held by Hamas terrorists in Gaza. Emanuel prepared a plan for Shalit's rescue, presented it to the Chief of Staff and Prime Minister – and they turned it down. Their fear was that its price in soldiers' lives might be too high, but Moreno was sorely disappointed and frustrated at what he felt was a lack of leadership and courage.

Arutz-7's Shimon Cohen, who studied with Moreno in the pre-military academy in Eli, wrote this week:

"It's impossible not to dream what 'could' have been. If Emanuel's plan had been carried out and succeeded, like others that he led and initiated, we would not have had to release 1,027 terrorists in exchange for Gilad Shalit – including hundreds with blood on their hands, especially Oct. 7^th mastermind Yihye Sinwar. We can only imagine how Israeli history over the past 15 years would have looked had Sinwar and his cronies not been released then.

"It's true that the architects of anti-Israel terrorism knew how to pull its strings even from with prison wall, but there is certainly no comparison between a terrorist leader in prison and one who is free of constraints...

"Yes, there is great disappointment with our leaders of then, whose fears apparently cost us so much more than the price they were afraid to pay. But it is incumbent upon us to remember at the same time that our there is much that we do not know and probably never will know. How many massacres and mass terrorist attacks were prevented, with G-d's help, in the merit of the dedication and initiative of dedicated fighters such as Emanuel Moreno and others in elite units, air force squadrons, infantry, armored units, intelligence, and more! Our thanks to all."

Another Arutz-7 correspondent, Dvir Amar, reports that at a 20th memorial this week for Lt.-Col. Moreno - whose photograph is still censored for reasons that can only be surmised – a medic who attempted unsuccessfully to save Moreno's life told of his short but meaningful acquaintance with the hero:

"I was one of Emanuel's underlings at the time, a new, young combat soldier. But I well remember the sense of security and optimism that his presence conveyed to everyone there… Shortly before the incident in which he was killed, we were on our way back from a successful mission, and Moreno's happiness was clear to all. His emotions were felt by everyone. He was really in the clouds, just overjoyed at the results and at how our unit had worked together. And he remained that way up to the final seconds – because then we realized that something was going down. Emanuel was the first to realize it, and he abruptly and firmly said, 'Something is happening here.'"

In fact, on their way back from the secret mission to prevent the smuggling of Iranian and Syrian weapons to Hizbullah, they had fallen into a murderous Hizbullah ambush in southern Lebanon - even though a ceasefire had been declared shortly beforehand.

The former soldier said at this week's memorial, "I was a medic, and after Emanuel was hit, I was the one who took him out of the jeep and started life-saving operations. But I soon saw that it was too late… I remember seeing his eyes still open, but realizing that he was no longer with us. I closed his eyes, and said, 'Dear brother, you're now in a place that's all good.'"

The soldier recounted that he has never told that story publicly before, because of its personal nature. "It took me 20 years to tell this… His final minutes left an amazing impression. The strength that he gave all of us, even then – that was truly Emanuel."

For more information on Emanuel Moreno, see https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/122213

From a collection of stories about Emanuel Moreno:
The Value of Five Seconds (from a letter to Emanuel's family)

I would like to share with you a conversation I had with Emanuel on Friday, just a few hours before we boarded the helicopter. I don't remember the exact words, but this is the gist of it. We sat and talked about different things that could happen to us, and what we would do in each case. This was just two weeks after the sad incident in which a helicopter was hit by a rocket and five soldiers were killed, and so there was a general vague apprehension regarding flying in helicopters over Lebanon.

Emanuel asked me, "So what would you do if, G-d forbid, our chopper is hit by a missile and you have five seconds left until it crashes?" I answered, "I don't know. I guess I would be very sad and scared, and I would close my eyes and wait for it to end as quickly and painlessly as possible." Emanuel thought for a moment and then said, "What I would do, and this is what you should do too, is to say 'Shma Yisrael.'" I looked at him and said, "OK, you'll say Shma Yisrael. But what will it give you? No matter what, a second later, the crash will come and we'll all die."

And then he answered me something that has remained with me until now, and I'm convinced it will remain with me all my life: "If a person has five seconds left to live, and those seconds still have significance for him and aspiration for what comes afterwards, that means that his whole life had meaning. But if the person has five seconds left and he doesn't realize their importance, then apparently his whole life had no meaning. For we don't live just to satisfy our desires, or just for momentary pleasures; our lives are rather a step on the way to the next stage."

This sentence has been with me from the moment of the terrible incident, and it helps me, in that I know that as far as Emanuel was concerned, his life did not end with that terrible wound that killed him. Rather, just one stage ended on the way to the next stage, one that is even more important than this one - a stage that can be reached only by living this life. I am not a religious person, but I believe that Emanuel's strong faith helped him get through all the difficult times of his life calmly and serenely - and especially from the time he was hit until he died. For me, this is something very strengthening.