Time Is Running Out For a Gaza Peace Deal, As Bibi Moves to Widen War to the West Bank
Sept. 19—America’s most able diplomat, CIA Director William Burns is carrying in his briefcase what he intends to be the final draft of a ceasefire/hostage release deal, but has still made no decision on when to release it. Israel and Hamas, neither of whose leaders, Prime Minister Benjamin “Bibi” Netanyahu nor his co-evil twin, Hamas chief Yahya Sinwar, have any real interest in peace. But Burns’ hand is stayed, sources report, as the Butcher of Gaza, Netanyahu, appears ready to extend his genocidal rampage against Palestinians to the West Bank, and beyond, into Lebanon.
On Sept. 17, explosives planted in pagers in the possession of Hezbollah operatives in the West Bank, Lebanon, and Syria were remotely detonated, killing at least 12, including children and wounding around 2,800. On the 18th, explosives inside “walkie-talkie” two-way radios, also belonging to Hezbollah, were remotely detonated in Beirut, Tyre, and other places in southern Lebanon killing 25 more, and according to Reuters, wounding several hundred, some severely. Israel has not taken responsibility for either set of detonations, but sources have told the media that in the case of the pagers, Mossad agents had planted tiny remote-controlled explosive chips near their batteries. It is assumed the same modification was done to the radios.
A senior Lebanese security source said the devices had been modified by Israel’s spy service “at the production level,” claiming that “the Mossad injected a board inside of the device that has explosive material that receives a code. It’s very hard to detect it through any means. Even with any device or scanner.” (According to other intelligence sources, the pagers were actually sold to Hezbollah from a production and trading company created and run by the Mossad; the same appears to be true for the two-way radios.).
The decision to carry out the pager/radio attack at this time was ”imposed” on Israel following an intelligence breach that involved two Hezbollah operatives who had discovered that the devices had been tampered with, Al-Monitor reported, citing high-level regional intelligence sources.
Other sources report that Netanyahu ordered the attacks. “He was hoping to provoke Hezbollah into a manic response that would have them attack and kill Israeli settlers or other high-profile targets, much like in the Oct. 7 attack on Israel by Hamas, which Bibi allowed to occur. That attack, which resulted in the massacre of more than 1,200 mostly Israeli civilians, including women and children and the taking by Hamas of more than 240 hostages, provided the cover for Bibi’s genocidal attack on Gaza, utterly destroying it. Similarly, the expected Hezbollah counter-action would provide the pretext for an all-out IDF assault on the West Bank, and then into Hezbollah strongholds in Lebanon.”
Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah said in a televised address Sept. 18 that the pager blasts could be called "a declaration of war," and that Israel had "crossed all red lines," while dealing the organization an "unprecedented blow in its history." Nasrallah claimed that Israel indicated to Hezbollah through official channels that the aim of its attack was to stop Hezbollah's support for Gaza, adding that "this blow will not bring us down, and it will not defeat us…We make it clear to the Israeli enemy that support for Gaza will not stop until the war there ends," and that no military escalation, assassinations or all-out-war would return Israel's northern residents to their homes.
Significantly, Nasrallah did not announce any immediate escalation in response to the attacks, and continued to link what Hezbollah would do to the events in Gaza and the prospects of a deal there. Sources with contacts with the Gaza peace negotiations say that he may be aware that there is now intense maneuvering going on in the Israeli miltary and security forces command to extract agreement Gaza peace deal from Netanyahu to secure Israel's flank in Gaza, as it prepares for war in the north; these sources also report that the security forces and the IDF leadership would prefer not fight a major war with Hezbollah, which would send many more IDF body bags back to Israel. "There is definitely some intense maneuvering going on [in the security cabinet]," said a source. "If some new deal emerges, a lot will depend on te response of Hamas and Sinwar."
Following a security cabinet meeting Sept. 16, the Israel Defense Forces moved their 98th Division, whose forces have been fighting until recently in Gaza, to Israel’s north, after the cabinet decided to shift more of the military’s capabilities to the region. In addition, the IDF decided on a limited recruitment of reserve personnel to be deployed in the north in case of a security escalation, including air defense, Home Front Command and Medical Corps personnel.
“The trigger has not yet been pulled for a full-scale war in the north,” said a source. “Defense Minister [Yoav] Gallant has tried to keep a lid on Israel’s fighting Hezbollah, so far unsuccessfully trying to use a war in the north to leverage a signing of a ceasefire/hostage deal and an end to the slaughter in Gaza. But Bibi has initially outmaneuvered him, forcing the issue of how to handle the West Bank. Bibi might yet get his way to continue slaughtering Palestinians in Gaza, while launching a war in the north, which neither Gallant nor the military really want. Hezbollah fighters are the best trained non-state military force in the region. They will not be the kind of pushover that Hamas has been. They are well equipped, know how to fight, and are prepared to take on the Israelis."
With Bibi apparently close to getting his way for a wider war that he thinks will keep him in power, the source reports that, at least for the time being, he has backed off from plans to immediately sack Gallant, to replace him with right-wing nutcase Gideon Sa’ar; and then replacing Gen. Harzi Halevi, Chief of the General Staff of the IDF. Over the past several days, Netanyahu and his aides have been briefing Sa’ar on security developments related the Gaza war and tensions with Hezbollah, despite Sa’ar’s lacking the necessary security clearance, political sources told Haaretz, suggesting that the briefings were actually intended to prevent the collapse of talks between Netanyahu and Sa’ar regarding his replacing Gallant, a member of Bibi’s Likud Party, and a “darling” of the current U.S. Administration. Security sources described the briefings Sa’ar is getting as highly unusual, with one telling Haaretz, “It’s inconceivable that the prime minister is acting with such outrageous irresponsibility for the sake of political deals.”
“What all this means is that Burns has to put the peace deal on the table or force a new Israeli deal, soon,” said another source. “before everything blows up, which is what Bibi and Sinwar both want, because they are both bloodthirsty madmen.” The source reports that the Burns proposed deal has language supported by Israeli security forces and the IDF, on the IDF remaining in the Philadelphi corridor along Gaza’s southern border with Egypt. Both the security forces and the IDF say there is really no need for a continuing IDF presence, and IDF leaders along with Gallant have thoroughly debunked Bibi’s claims that they are needed. The language is said to be acceptable also to Hamas, who have also demanded that any deal reflect a commitment to a total end to the hostilities, following further negotiations.
“If Hamas could see the future, they would sign on to Burns’ proposal regardless of what Sinwar thinks of it,” said the source. “But Bibi will never let Hamas be a part of a future government in Gaza. If they want to survive, then the best bet on that, the best thing for the Palestinian people that they purport to represent, would be to force Bibi out. If Hamas signs this compromise, then the pressure on Netanyahu from all sides could force him to sign, or suffer actions taken against him by his principal sponsor, the United States, whose government Burns represents. If he signs, his coalition breaks up, and he is forced from office, and eventually into a prison cell. If there is no deal in Gaza, then there is going to be war with Hezbollah in the North. That is certain. Bibi is trying to set that up with the blowing up of Hezbollah’s electronic communications devices.”
The Kremlin has warned that the attack could become a trigger for a wider regional conflict, adding that “the causes and circumstances of the incident must be established and those behind it must be identified.” Meanwhile, using Iran to deliver their messages, the Russians have been doing all they can to keep Hezbollah under some control, and not launch a wider war.
“In the next 24 hours we will know a lot more about how this plays out,” concluded the source. “All I can say is buckle up; it’s going to be a wild ride. Burns’ job would be a lot easier if he had someone playing with a full deck in the White House, and if did not have to deal with the sensibilities of that two-faced, nasty bitch, Vice President and Democrat party nominee for President Kamala Harris. That’s a real problem with getting any deal done: a terribly weak President who can’t really help get this plan across the finish line.”
