Around twenty coalition Knesset members, led by Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee member Amit Halevi (Likud), sent a strongly worded letter on Sunday to ministers in the political-security cabinet, urging them to reject the IDF General Staff’s proposed plan for continuing the fighting in Lebanon.
The lawmakers argued that the current plan - which envisions maintaining a narrow security strip only a few kilometers north of the border - represents “a missed opportunity and a strategic danger" to Israel.
In the letter, titled “Objectives of the Operational Plan in Lebanon," the MKs pointed to recent briefings by the Northern Command commander as evidence that senior military leadership is seeking to limit the scope of the campaign. They warned that defining the war’s goals in such narrow terms would amount to “a historic and strategic missed opportunity."
The signatories stressed that the current regional climate, particularly in light of developments involving Iran, creates an opportunity for a more far-reaching shift in the northern arena - rather than a limited operation that could lead to renewed conflict in the near future.
They cautioned that a restricted security zone would fail to provide a lasting solution, noting it would require a significant and prolonged military presence, leave troops exposed to ongoing attacks, and increase international pressure on Israel to withdraw.
Instead, the MKs called for a broader military move, including the capture and control of territory up to the Litani River and even beyond in the eastern sector. Such a step, they argued, would create a shorter and more defensible border while increasing pressure on the Lebanese government to remove Iranian influence and its proxies from the country.
The letter further claimed that Shiite villages in southern Lebanon are an integral part of Iran’s regional network, warning that the General Staff’s operational and legal reasoning “echoes the same approach that led to failure in Gaza" and could produce similar outcomes.
Among their key demands, the MKs called for the complete removal of Hezbollah from Lebanon, the establishment of a new border along the Litani River and beyond, and the full evacuation of civilians from areas south of the river, with the IDF deploying along the river itself. This, they argued, would be a true long-term solution to secure Israel's northern communities.