Hezbollah holds the occupied North as 'hostage', Israeli media says
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An Israeli researcher has stated that "Israel" has captives in the South and hostages in the North, where settlers cannot return to their houses or live normally as a result of Hezbollah's retaliation.
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Smoke rises from an Israeli forces position which was hit by Hezbollah shells as it is seen from Rmeish, a Lebanese border village, in south Lebanon, Tuesday, Nov. 21, 2023 (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)
Israeli media reported on Sunday that Hezbollah's military policy along the Lebanese-Palestinian border is "holding settlers in the occupied North as hostages".
Moran Aluf, an Israeli researcher, told the Israeli Kan channel that "Israel" has captives in the South and "hostages in the North", where settlers cannot return to their houses or live normally as a result of Hezbollah's retaliation.
"We ['Israel'] cannot allow an organization like Hezbollah to take settlers as its hostages," she added, noting that "Hezbollah created an equation, dictating that as long as fighting in Gaza is ongoing, then I [Hezbollah] will continue firing."
She also clarified that if any agreement is reached, it would only be temporary, adding that there is a possibility of war against the Islamic Resistance in Lebanon "because we cannot anticipate what it wants or what its intentions are. We must understand its capabilities to avoid what happened in the South."
Aluf additionally described the threat Hezbollah poses on the northern settlements as a "security challenge" that would subside the political agreement if not handled.
80,000 settlers flee the North
Aluf's statement came one day after the "Metula" mayor revealed that 80,000 settlers have been forced out of the North as a result of Hezbollah's defensive operations, in support of Gaza and the Lebanese South.
David Azoulay, the mayor of the "Metula" settlement in the occupied north, revealed on Saturday that around 80,000 settlers have been away from their houses for four months, with no regard as to when they would be able to return.
Azoulay told Israeli Channel 13 that "all we [settlers] are asking for is to live in our houses, but we are not a free people in "Israel", adding that "Hezbollah dictates the intensity at all times in the North."
Azoulay also claimed that over the past four months, Hezbollah had been firing and attacking northern settlements, while the Israeli occupation forces fought inadequately and in a manner that would not allow settlers to return to their houses, amid the silence and neglect of the occupation government.
Read more: Hezbollah missiles cause utter destruction: Israeli official in north
