What did an Israeli report say about Aoun’s election? Read these details

She stated that the election of Army Commander Joseph Aoun as President of Lebanon constitutes an important event for Lebanon and a positive geopolitical development for Israel, and it highlights the need to transform the ceasefire on Israel’s northern border into a permanent arrangement.

She stated that Lebanon now has a leader after more than two years of failed attempts to elect a president, noting that Aoun enjoys the support of the United States, Saudi Arabia, and France in the first place, and he belongs to the military establishment responsible for maintaining the ceasefire with Israel. This is promising news, but achieving its potential depends. Also on Israel’s actions.

She pointed out that last year, Israel directed violent strikes against Hezbollah in Lebanon, explaining that Israel’s use of force during the fall and summer of 2024 was the reason for pushing the group to agree in November to a 60-day ceasefire, and to abandon its commitment to continue fighting as long as it continues. Israel is fighting Hamas in Gaza.

The weakening of Hezbollah also paved the way for the successful campaign by the Syrian opposition to overthrow the Assad regime in Damascus, an ally of Hezbollah and Iran.

The newspaper indicated that the ceasefire with Hezbollah is one of the few diplomatic achievements that Israel has been able to secure since the November 7 attack carried out by Hamas.

In this context, the Jerusalem Post says that Israel’s interest must be to make this temporary lull in the fighting permanent, seize the opportunities presented by weakening Hezbollah within Lebanese internal politics, and gradually reshape Israeli-Lebanese relations.

Doubts about the future
The same source continues, saying: But as the sixty-day ceasefire period approaches its end, doubts are increasing about Israel’s commitment to the agreements reached and ending the fighting on the northern front.

He explained that to achieve this goal, Israel must act wisely on the military and diplomatic fronts in an optimal way to serve its long-term strategic goals.

Hezbollah’s opponents in Lebanon see this as an opportunity to change the balance of power. They have worked successfully to elect a new president since the start of the ceasefire, and they see this as an opportunity to create a new leadership in Lebanon that opposes Hezbollah and allies with the West and moderate Arab countries.

Despite its military power, Israel’s influence over internal politics in Lebanon is limited, and it should avoid actions that portray it as trying to dictate operations or appoint leaders there just as it did in the 1980s.

However, Israel’s actions create a context that affects internal developments in Lebanon.

The source stated in the context that Israel must learn from the experience of the First Lebanon War in 1982, especially since its rapid military achievements at that time gradually eroded when it faced the complex internal situation in Lebanon.

It stresses that Israel must now avoid harming or disrupting internal operations in Lebanon, express its commitment to implementing the ceasefire, including the withdrawal of the IDF from southern Lebanon, declare its desire for future peace with the Lebanese state, and invest Diplomatically in expanding coordination and communication channels with Lebanon with the help of international actors such as the United Nations, the United States, France and the Gulf states, this is even more important in light of the dramatic changes taking place in Syria that are likely to shape the future of the region in the coming years.

At the conclusion of the article, the newspaper stressed that the excessive and prolonged use of Israeli military force against Lebanon would lead to the imminent collapse of the ceasefire, delay the return of the residents of the north to their homes, cause more harm to IDF soldiers, strengthen Hezbollah’s strength, and increase hostility towards Israel is among the moderate elements in Lebanon, erasing Israel’s impressive military achievements. (Russia Today)