Far-right Israeli minister calls for occupation of south Lebanon

Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich has called for the reoccupation of southern Lebanon, in a speech in the occupied Old City of Jerusalem. 

"There is no way to restore security to the residents of the north without a war that will destroy Hezbollah, that will reoccupy southern Lebanon, and that will return the security strip that is today in our territory back to the territory of Lebanon,” said Smotrich.

Israel occupied a strip of land in southern Lebanon from the early 1980s until the Israeli army withdrew in May 2000.

“The Israeli people are ready for this. They see with their own eyes the results of flight and withdrawal. It started in Oslo, then the flight from Lebanon and Gush Katif and the thought that it is possible to gather behind walls, fences, and sensors and build on international guarantees,” he added.