Israel president tells AFP Europe should back efforts to ‘eradicate’ Hezbollah

JERUSALEM: Israel’s President Isaac Herzog told AFP Monday that Europe should back his country’s fight against Hezbollah, as Israeli forces carried out ground operations in Lebanon.

In an exclusive interview at his Jerusalem residence, the Israeli head of state also said the US-Israeli war with Iran marked a “historical juncture”.

“Europe should support any effort, any effort, to eradicate Hezbollah now,” Herzog said.

“They should understand that if you want to get anywhere, sometimes you need to win war.”

Israel’s military announced Monday it was conducting “limited” ground operations against Hezbollah in southern Lebanon to end its rocket attacks.

Lebanon was drawn into the Middle East war when Hezbollah attacked Israel on March 2 in response to the killing of Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in US-Israeli strikes.

Israel has carried out extensive air strikes against areas of southern Lebanon and the capital Beirut, mainly saying it is targeting Hezbollah sites or operatives.

Also read: Israel army says begun ‘limited targeted ground operations’ against Hezbollah in south Lebanon

The Lebanese authorities say that more than one million people have been displaced inside the country in the two weeks of fighting.

French President Emmanuel Macron on Saturday offered to host direct negotiations between the Israeli and Lebanese governments in Paris, saying that Beirut was ready to engage.

Herzog, whose role is mainly ceremonial, welcomed the proposal as a “very positive development”.

“I think it’s very important that there should be talks,” he said.

“Talks are very important, because it’s about time we have an opportunity of moving forward with Lebanon.”

So far the Israeli government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has given no public indication that talks with Beirut are on the table.

Israeli officials have repeatedly railed against the Lebanese authorities for what they say are failures to honour a commitment to disarm Hezbollah.

“We are at a historical juncture,” Herzog said of the broader US-Israeli war with Iran.

“There comes a moment that after well over a generation of endless wars, bloodshed and terror, the root cause of it, which comes from Tehran, will be blocked and stopped, and the whole direction of the region will change,” he continued.

He insisted defeating the clerical authorities in Iran was “in the innermost national security interests of Europe”.

Herzog said that Iran had been seeking “10 times the amount of ballistic missiles, which would have threatened Europe big time”.

“After talking and talking for a whole generation, it’s about time for doing,” he said.