Khaberni - Israeli Finance Minister, the extremist Bezalel Smotrich, stated on Monday that Israel should extend its borders with Lebanon up to the Litani River in the depths of southern Lebanon, at a time when Israeli occupation forces bombed bridges and destroyed homes in the area in an escalating military attack.
The statements of the Finance Minister are the clearest and most explicit so far by a senior Israeli official regarding the seizure of Lebanese territory in a battle Israel claims targets Hezbollah.
Lebanon was drawn into the war on March 2nd when Hezbollah fired rockets at Israel.
Since then, Israel has ordered all residents to leave the area south of the Litani River and has launched intensive air raids on the area, based on its being an area of concentration and influence for Hezbollah.
The Lebanese authorities say that the Israeli air and ground attack has resulted in the death of more than a thousand and displacement of more than a million from their homes after Israel ordered residents to evacuate large areas of the country.
New Borders at the Litani
Smotrich told an Israeli radio program that the military campaign in Lebanon "must end with a completely different reality, not only with the decision related to Hezbollah, but also with a change in Israel's borders."
He added decisively... "I say here clearly... everywhere and in every discussion also.. the new Israeli borders must be at the Litani."
Smotrich's statements greatly exceed the boundaries of official Israeli policy as declared. He is a leader of a small right-wing extremist party that is part of the governing coalition in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government.
Defense Minister Yisrael Katz hinted earlier this month at plans to seize lands, saying Lebanon might face "loss of territories" if Hezbollah is not disarmed.
Smotrich's statements have sparked strong reactions in Lebanon, which is striving to emerge from a spiral of violence ongoing for decades with Israel, with repeated waves of clashes and the terrestrial invasions and occupation of areas within it.
A Lebanese official said that Beirut still relies on foreign powers to exert sufficient pressure on Israel to end the war through accepting an offer from President Joseph Aoun to hold direct talks.
Smotrich also called for Israel to annex areas it currently controls in the Gaza Strip extending to the ceasefire line with Hamas movement; Israel currently controls 53% of the Gaza Strip area, and has ordered residents to evacuate those areas and demolished the buildings there.
The Israeli army says its forces in Lebanon perform ground maneuvers and raids on Hezbollah fighters' locations and weapons stores, aiming to protect residents of northern Israel from Hezbollah's fire.
The Lebanese government has banned Hezbollah's military activity and said it wants to conduct direct talks with Israel.
Cutting off Roads to the North
At the beginning of the week, Israel bombed a main bridge connecting southern Lebanon to the rest of the country after the Israeli occupation army ordered the destruction of all bridges over the Litani River, and intensification of home demolitions near the border.
Generally, international law prohibits armies from attacking civil infrastructure, and the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights has criticized Israel's actions in Lebanon, particularly their use of widespread evacuation orders.
Israeli occupation raids targeted two additional bridges over the Litani River on Monday. A road near a main bridge was attacked on Sunday, and another small bridge in a different part of the river.
Hanna Al-Amil, the mayor of Rmeish, a majority-Christian town on the border whose residents refused to leave their homes, said the difficulty of moving is increasing.
"We are accompanied by a convoy from the Lebanese army once or twice a week when trying to obtain essential goods from neighboring areas," he added.
"We actually get no electricity or water from the state and we have a shortage of diesel. If all roads leading to the north are cut off, who knows what the future holds for us," he continued.
