Prime Minister Yair Lapid said Tuesday that Hezbollah threatens the prosperity of Lebanon, which has the potential to be a thriving country and not a base for Iran-backed terror, as he toured the northern border with Defense Minister Benny Gantz.
Lapid and Gantz toured the border between Israel and Lebanon with senior IDF commanders and security officials a day after the IDF shot down a Hezbollah drone that had crossed into the Israeli territory.
"Hezbollah's action are a threat to Lebanon," Lapid said. "We are not interested in an escalation of violence, but cannot accept Hezbollah's actions that can ignite the entire region at a time when Lebanon can begin to develop its energy resources," he said, adding that Israel is prepared for any eventuality.
"Israel will continue to act against any Iranian terror proxy," the prime minister said adding that the government will cooperate with other Mideast nations to prevent Iran's efforts to destabilize the region.
Gantz said Israel was prepared to put in effort to see its northern neighbor thrive, but would defend its civilians. "The leaders of Lebanon know well that if they chose the path of fire, they will be burn," he said. "But if they opt for stability, their citizens will be helped," Gantz said.
Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah said in a speech last week that "no one" would be allowed to operate in maritime oil and gas fields if Lebanon was barred from its "rights" in extracting from areas off of its own coast.
"If you don't give us the rights that our state is asking for ... then we could flip the table on everyone," the Hezbollah leader said.
Israel and Lebanon are in negotiations with the mediation of the United States over their maritime border and the ownership of gas fields discovered in the Mediterranean Sea.
Earlier this month Hezbollah launched UAVs at the Karish gas field in Israeli economic waters, which were shot down by the IDF.