U.S. Diplomacy Won’t Deter Hezbollah

The Biden administration is reportedly attempting to mediate an agreement that would resolve Israel and Lebanon’s longstanding land border disputes and deploy the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) along the border, presumably displacing Hezbollah’s dangerous presence there. However, there is little reason to believe that, even if such a deal could be reached, it could be enforced or would end continual Hezbollah attacks against Israel. Hezbollah’s continued aggression, even after the implementation of the U.S.-mediated October 2022 Israel-Lebanon maritime border agreement, demonstrates that Israeli concessions and restraint in the face of Hezbollah attacks only invite more attacks. And neither Lebanese nor United Nations forces have any track record of restraining Hezbollah. Accordingly, the United States should firmly support Israel’s right to militarily compel Hezbollah, particularly its elite Radwan unit, to retreat from the Israel-Lebanon border.