jpost
The IDF can destroy Hezbollah’s military capabilities in a matter of ‘mere days,’ National Unity Party leader Benny Gantz said on Tuesday.
Speaking at the 21st Herzliya Conference at Reichman University, Gantz said a major challenge for Israel is to ‘return the southern and northern residents back to their homes, even at the price of escalation.’
He said he heard the reports about the Hezbollah threat to bring down Israel’s electrical grid, and responded, ‘We can bring Lebanon completely into the dark, and take apart Hezbollah’s power in mere days.’
The former defense minister and IDF chief of staff said the price to ‘Israel will be heavy. We need to back up our institutions. We need to be ready for major incidents of harm [to the public]. We should try to avoid it, but if we need to do it, we cannot be deterred from it’.
‘We cannot let Hezbollah keep threats close to the northern border,’ he added, ‘we need to get the [northern] residents back by September 1.’
Forming a team
Another challenge for Israel that Gantz discussed was building a regional and global alliance against Iran.
‘We still have the opportunity of normalization with the Saudis and other states, to build what we started to build, the Middle East air defense, to form a stranglehold on the Iranian axis,’ he said.
He emphasized that Israel must work hard with the US ‘to build up Israel’s defenses and to be ready for ‘Judgment Day’ in stopping Iranian nuclear weapons.’