Israeli Diaspora Minister Says Lebanon Isn’t a State, Advocates Taking South

Tensions between Israel and Hezbollah are escalating substantially, with scores of people killed in Lebanon in the past week. Israel’s far-right government is stepping up the rhetoric and talking war.

Diaspora Minister Amichai Chikli is the latest voicing pro-war rhetoric, declaring overnight in comments on X.com that Lebanon does not, in his opinion, fit the definition of a state, and that this gives Israel every right to invade and seize southern Lebanon.

Chikli said that southern Lebanon is essentially under the control of “a hostile Shi’ite population.” He added that he believes neither Syria nor Iran counts as states, and so don’t merit protection for their status as sovereign nations.

Israel is generally not overly concerned about violations of sovereignty through its military actions, but what Chikli is advocating is overt military action against other nations in the region.

Chikli was one of several government ministers who recently urged the Israeli government to cut off all access to humanitarian aid to northern Gaza, and argued that the military should conduct operations to “cleanse” the region. The proposal prescribed similar cleansings of other areas.

Meanwhile, the US has been warning Israel against further escalation, cautioning that it is not in Israel’s interest to see regional tensions grow, adding that there needs to be to space to engage in diplomacy.