On Lebanon’s 77th Independence Day, the Israeli army made a video to send a rare message to the Lebanese people.
In that video, the Israeli Defense Forces sent wishes in both Hebrew and Arabic, stating through its officers that it hopes that Lebanon gains real independence rather than have “a country in a country.”
In their message, IDF soldiers said they wished Lebanon would return to how it used to be and that it “returns to be the Switzerland of the East” and not a proxy of Iran.
The message is strange as both Lebanon and Israel are technically enemies that have had a history of war. Additionally, it goes without saying that Lebanon’s Hezbollah poses a main threat to the Israeli and seeks the elimination of the enemy state.
It’s plain to see that the Israeli army certainly took advantage of Lebanon’s occasion to reassert its stance against Hezbollah and reaffirm its belief that the Iran-backed organization is also a danger to Lebanese citizens.
In 2018, the IDF did something similar, wishing “its neighbors to the north” a happy Independence Day “free of Iranian imperialism and Hezbollah’s terrorism.”
Israel has been attempting to make opinion-challenging gestures of support to the Lebanese people.
Immediately following the August 4th port explosion, Israel offered help to Beirut and also lit up the Lebanese flag at its Tel Aviv city hall in solidarity.
It is evident that Israel wants to showcase that it differentiates between Hezbollah as an entity and the nation’s general population.
Recently, Lebanese officials, such as President Michel Aoun’s daughter Claudine Aoun, as well as his son-in-law MP Gebran Bassil, have expressed their acceptance for possible peace with Israel.
This year, Lebanon is also holding negotiations with its enemy Israel in talks that are deemed “historic.”
