Jerusalem Post/Opinion If Israel handles it right, rare Middle East diplomatic openings could reshape region - editorial - ByJPOST EDITORIAL NOVEMBER 3, 2025 05:58 Updated: NOVEMBER 3, 2025 12:55

 Jerusalem Post/Opinion

If Israel handles it right, rare Middle East diplomatic openings could reshape region - editorial

The stick has been wielded effectively. Now it’s time to see if the carrot can be just as powerful.

President Joseph Aoun (R) chairs the first meeting of Lebanon's new government, along with Premier Nawaf Salam, at the Baabda presidential palace, east of Beirut, on February 11, 2025

(photo credit: ANWAR AMRO/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES

ByJPOST EDITORIAL

NOVEMBER 3, 2025 05:58

Updated: NOVEMBER 3, 2025 12:55

After two years of demonstrating military strength across the Middle East, from accomplishing aerial supremacy over Tehran’s skies to the beeper attacks that decimated Hezbollah, Israel now faces a more delicate challenge of knowing when to shift from the stick to the carrot. Recent movements in Lebanon and Syria present a rare diplomatic opening that could reshape the region if handled with the care and prudence necessary.

Lebanon stands at a crossroads after decades of instability. President Joseph Aoun ordered the Lebanese army to confront Israeli incursions and defend Lebanese sovereignty last week, a show of state strength rarely seen in Lebanon, where Hezbollah has often been more powerful than the government.

More importantly, the Lebanese cabinet has decided to prepare a plan for disarming the terror group. Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz reiterated this Sunday morning, calling on the government to fulfill the task. This is exactly what the international community has long demanded, yet the response has been continued military pressure rather than diplomatic encouragement.

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Lebanese Foreign Minister Youssef Raggi stated that only a diplomatic solution, not a military one, can ensure stability and guarantee calm in the south of the country. He’s right. The Lebanese government is attempting something exceedingly difficult. Asserting control over Hezbollah after years of the terror group operating as a state within a state is a monumental challenge, and the decision was made under pressure from the Trump administration, which has demanded that Hezbollah be disarmed.

Much has been made of how Turkey and Qatar have pressed Hamas to acknowledge that disarmament is the only way forward. Hezbollah must understand the same applies to them.

An Israeli Air Force F-35 flies during an aerial demonstration at a graduation ceremony for Israeli air force pilots at the Hatzerim air base in southern Israel, June 27, 2019. (credit: REUTERS/AMIR COHEN)

Syria, however, is an even more remarkable opportunity for the Jewish state. For the first time in over 75 years, direct negotiations between Israeli and Syrian officials have taken place and advanced the possibility of peace. Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa is scheduled to visit the White House on November 10 for talks with US President Donald Trump, marking the first-ever visit by a Syrian president to Washington.

The same Sharaa, who once had a $10 million US bounty on his head and led a group affiliated with al-Qaeda, has emerged as Syria’s leader after the fall of the Assad regime.

In August, Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani met with an Israeli delegation in Paris to discuss regional stability, in what was the first time in over 25 years that official Syrian media reported contacts with Israel. Secret talks initiated by the UAE, Qatar, and Azerbaijan have been ongoing since the spring.

Israeli officials describe these negotiations as being in “advanced stages,” focused initially on security arrangements but with aspirations toward full normalization. A fifth round of direct negotiations is expected after Sharaa’s Washington visit, with the US goal of reaching a security agreement by the end of the year.

The risk is squandering these opportunities when strategic vision is required. Aoun criticized the IDF last Thursday after Israeli soldiers entered the village of Blida in southern Lebanon earlier in the day and killed municipal worker Ibrahim Salameh. In response, he instructed the Lebanese army to confront any IDF incursion into southern Lebanon. We need Aoun and the Lebanese government to work in tandem with them, not antagonize.

Israel's military prowess has been proved

Our regional neighbors have seen what Israel’s military can accomplish. They understand the consequences of crossing red lines. What remains to be seen is whether Israel can be equally effective in peace as in war. Can we recognize when former enemies are genuinely seeking a different path?

Can we provide incentives for the new relationship we hope to establish with our long-sworn enemies – stable, responsible governments in Lebanon and Syria that control their territories and prevent attacks on Israel?

Diplomacy means using all available tools to achieve national objectives. After demonstrating overwhelming military capability, it is now time to deploy diplomatic skill. Israel has shown it can win battles. The harder question is whether it can win the peace that follows.

With Lebanon attempting to assert state authority and Syria’s new government reaching out to the West, the opportunity exists. This government must act with the same resolute behavior in pursuing peace as it showed in prosecuting war. The stick has been wielded effectively. Now it’s time to see if the carrot can be just as powerful.

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