Former US Under Secretary of State for the Middle East David Schenker has not ruled out the possibility of the war between Hamas and Israel spreading to other territories, including Lebanon, “causing great destruction like that perpetrated on Lebanese territory during the war in 2006.”
In an interview with local channel MTV on Thursday, he condemned “the provocative activities of Hezbollah which, for the past five days, have multiplied on the border between Lebanon and Israel, constituting a threat to the Hebrew State.”
He also commented on the visit of US Foreign Minister Antony Blinken to Israel, which “symbolizes US support for Tel Aviv in the light of major developments on Israeli soil.”
According to Schenker, the visit aimed to “dissuade Iran and Hezbollah from intervening in this conflict by sending in aircraft carriers, particularly after Hamas took Israeli hostages on October 7, an attack probably supported by Teheran.”
Commenting on Israel’s forthcoming ground offensive in Gaza, which “Hezbollah is watching closely,” Schenker said that it was an “attempt to limit Hamas’s activities.” However, he expressed skepticism about “Tel Aviv’s ability to reconquer Gaza.” “For years, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government has been trying to achieve stability by allowing financial and humanitarian aid from countries such as Qatar and Egypt to reach the Palestinians over the past ten months,” said Schenker.
However, he regretted “Hamas’s refusal to adhere to this approach,” underlining the Palestinian group’s determination “to destroy Israel, which confirms, among other things, its rejection of the Oslo Accords.”
