Israel and Hezbollah’s appetite Brings War after Three Weeks

Benjamin Netanyahu is treating negotiations as a losing track before they even begin. While Lebanon has signaled its readiness for direct talks with Israel, Netanyahu has set a three-week deadline before a possible return to wider fighting if no agreement is reached.

This suggests that war remains central to Israel’s calculations. For Netanyahu, continued confrontation offers political cover amid internal pressure and ongoing legal troubles.

Hezbollah, in turn, also benefits from keeping the war open within its current limits, using it to block direct negotiations and delay difficult questions over destruction, return, and reconstruction.

As a result, the ceasefire appears fragile rather than stable. The war continues at a calculated pace: neither fully ended, nor fully exploded. Under the pressure of deadlines and threats, the negotiation track may become only a pause between two rounds of escalation.