Insights from J Street on Halevi resignation and on Lebanon Ceasefire
This week in the news: IDF Chief of Staff resigns and 60-day deadline hits for Israeli withdrawal from southern Lebanon. What does it all mean?
Sharing with the Substack community two new resources from the J Street Policy Center: An explainer on the resignation of IDF Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi and a new column about the Israel-Lebanon ceasefire.
EXPLAINER: “The Resignation of IDF Chief Herzi Halevi and What It Means for the Gaza War.”
On January 21, IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi sent his letter of resignation to Defense Minister Israel Katz, taking responsibility for the IDF’s failure to protect Israeli citizens on October 7.
Halevi’s resignation raises questions about the future of the Israel-Hamas ceasefire agreement, the Gaza war, and by extension whether Netanyahu can keep his coalition together.
Our new explainer tackles these questions, explains why Halevi resigned, who might replace him, which other senior Israeli security officials are expected to resign and the reactions from the Netanyahu government and Israeli public.
COLUMN: “The Israel-Lebanon Ceasefire Must Hold.”
As stipulated in the Israel-Lebanon ceasefire agreement, Sunday, January 26 is the 60-day deadline for Israel to withdraw from southern Lebanon and for the Lebanese army to take control of the south.
Netanyahu has just announced that Israel would not fully withdraw from southern Lebanon by the deadline because the Lebanese army has not yet fully deployed to the south. To preserve the deal, the Trump Administration should press Israel and Lebanon to fulfill their remaining obligations, albeit on a longer timeline, and lay the ground for a permanent ceasefire.
In our latest Policy Center column, Avraham Spraragen explains that the weakening of Hezbollah and Iran, regime change in Syria, and new leadership in Lebanon present an historic opportunity to stabilize the Israel-Lebanon border, deliver safety and security to hundreds of thousands of civilians, and permanently degrade the influence of destabilizing actors.
Please feel free to share both resources widely.