“Our war is not against Lebanon or its people but against Hezbollah. We have made this clear to all members of the European Union and the region,” Haim Regev tells reporters in Brussels.
”The main issue preventing an end to the war with Hamas is the hostages. This war will not conclude until they are safely back home,’’ the ambassador says.
”If we don’t win the war, Europe will pay the price,” Israel’s ambassador to the EU and NATO Haim Regev told reporters in Brussels as on the same day the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) announced the start of “limited and selective” operations against Hezbollah in southern Lebanon, supported by by artillery and air forces.
“Our war is not against Lebanon or its people but against Hezbollah. We have made this clear to all members of the European Union and the region,” he stressed at a conference organized by Europe Israel Press Association (EIPA) ahead of the first anniversary of the October 7 massacres committed by Hamas in southern Israel.
“The media often forgets how this war began, which is why we must continue to highlight the events of October 7th. Israel left Gaza in 2005 with the hope that it would thrive, but Hamas chose terror over progress. The main issue preventing an end to the war is the hostages. This war will not conclude until they are safely back home,’’ the ambassador added.
‘’Israel is confronting multiple threats on all fronts, and no European country would tolerate the situation we face,’’ he said.
For Regev, the war with Hezbollah is also an opportunity for the Lebanese people to “rid themselves of the terrorists.” “I am sure that if there were free elections right now, 60-70 per cent of the Lebanese would reject Hezbollah,” he said.
He insisted that Israel is focusing on fighting terrorists, and not the local population in each region– and that its military oerations were also to the benefit of the European Union.
Speaking at the same conference, former Swedish Member of the European Parliament David Lega criticized the European Union for pressuring Israel.
“Although the EU recognises Israel’s right to defend itself, in practice it does not show it,” he said.
Lega, who now serves as senior advisor to the European Jewish Association (EJA) for Scandinavia, also decried Josep Borrell, the outgoing EU foreign policy chief ‘’who failed to represent the EU’s views, opting instead to impose his personal perspective.’’
However, with the new composition of the European Parliament, Lega believes that ‘’there is a more unified and pro-Israel stance.’’ ‘’A strong EU-Israel relationship benefits the world and we must protect Israel, the only democracy in this volatile region,’’ Lega said.
On Monday, after an extraordinary informal meeting, the 27 EU Foreign Ministers called for an immediate ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah and for both parties ‘’to commit to the full and symmetrical implementation of United Nations Security Council resolution 1701, so as to ensure the safe return of displaced populations on both sides as part of a broader negotiated settlement.’’
‘’Arms should now be silenced and the voice of diplomacy should speak and be heard by all. Hezbollah‘s firing of rockets and other projectiles into Israeli territory since 8th October has to stop. The sovereignty of both Israel and Lebanon has to be guaranteed,’’ Eu foreign policy chief Josep Borrell declared after the ministerial meeting.
He added, ‘’Any further military intervention would dramatically aggravate the situation and it has to be avoided. We are very much concerned about the risk of this further escalation of the conflict across the region, and urge for parties in the region to show restraint in the interest of de-escalation. ‘’