What Does Netanyahu Mean By "Change in Balance of Power"?
Dr. Aaron Lerner 22 September 2023

" The current situation will not continue. This requires a change in the
balance of power on our northern border."
PM Netanyahu's Remarks at the Start of the Government Meeting 15 September
2024
https://www.gov.il/en/pages/spoke-start150924

Since coining the "balance of power" (maazan kochot) phrase a week ago, Mr.
Netanyahu has repeated it on numerous occasions, including at today's closed
session of the Knesset's Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee.
(See YNET https://www.ynet.co.il/news/article/bkbci96pc ).

It is a snappy phrase for headlines, but I have yet to find someone here in
Israel who knows what it means.

And I fear that it is a phrase which Mr. Netanyahu is leaving conveniently
unclear so that, however the conflict ends in the North, he can claim he has
achieved it.

"Balance of power" is an odd phrase to apply to what's going on with
Hezbollah, because it seems to imply that at the end of this Hezbollah will
still have power - just a lot less than we do.

It sounds like kicking the Hezbollah can down the road with enough of a
"kick" that there is "deterrence".

Let us be clear about this.

We can target kill the top tiers of Hezbollah's military leadership and have
a diplomatic deal guaranteed by "we have your back" Biden and even provide
that the Hezbollah forces near our border don't wear uniforms or tote guns
in public but none of that will ultimately matter as long as the hundreds of
thousands of Hezbollah rockets and guided missiles are still in place.

Because when the shooting stops, our leadership will come up with a word
salad to claim Hezbollah is deterred while those rockets and missiles deter
us from effectively stopping Hezbollah from either upgrading them or
rebuilding their forces near the border.

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