The only way that the 65,000 displaced residents of northern Israel will return to their homes after a ceasefire agreement is if they feel that Hezbollah cannot regain power, according to Sarit Zehavi, founder and CEO of Alma.
In an interview with ILTV News, Zehavi said, “The key question is whether we're going to see Hezbollah military operatives watching us from the kitchen windows, just on the other side of the border.” If Hezbollah is back on the border, she said, “the future of the North is very unclear and that is an understatement.”
ISRAEL-LEBANON CEASEFIRE
Zehavi noted that even if it is safe, it is possible that a percentage of those who can afford to live elsewhere and who do not have an emotional attachment to the North may choose to stay away.
“That's why it's so important to make sure that Hezbollah cannot recover,” she said.
However, Zehavi said she was in favor of a ceasefire agreement because the residents of the North “want to go back to normality.”
She said, “The IDF gained great achievements, military achievements, against Hezbollah, degrading its capabilities on various fields, including killing the leadership of Hezbollah, killing more than 170 commanders of Hezbollah, eliminating big amounts of its rockets and pushing it away from the border.”
So what is the concern? Whether Hezbollah will be capable of recovering, Zehavi noted.