MK Oren: Hezbollah aggression will be seen as Lebanese declaration of war

After Hezbollah gains in recent Lebanese elections, Israel should raise the stakes and declare war on Lebanon in case of Hezbollah aggression, Oren claims.

By JPOST.COM STAFF
Updated: MAY 13, 2018 15:00
Lebanon's Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri attends a general parliament discussion in downtown Beirut, Lebanon October 18, 2017. (photo credit: MOHAMED AZAKIR / REUTERS)
Lebanon's Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri attends a general parliament discussion in downtown Beirut, Lebanon October 18, 2017.
(photo credit: MOHAMED AZAKIR / REUTERS)
Israel should react to Hezbollah aggression by declaring war on its host state, MK Michael Oren [Kulanu] claimed on Saturday, following Hezbollah's gains in the recent Lebanese elections. Oren said that the election results erased the separation between the terrorist group and the state of Lebanon.
"We must go on a diplomatic and legal preemptive strike," wrote Oren in the Jerusalem Post's sister publication Maariv. "Should Hezbollah fire on Israel, we need to threaten that we will declare war on Lebanon."
Lamenting the fact Israel failed to do so in 2006, Oren argued that "there can be no illusions. Any war in the 21st century, and especially a war between Israel and its enemies, will end not just on the battlefield but also in the international criminal court in The Hague."
Therefore, argued Oren, "a public affirmation of our intention to declare a legal and diplomatic state of war with Lebanon would be a vital element in our defense system."