Source says Israel seeks gradual seizure of Ali Al-Tahir hill

🔴 عاجل: A senior political source told Al-Jumhouria that Israel is inflating the importance of Ali Al-Tahir hill and is working on two tracks to seize it: first, through U.S. pressure on the Lebanese authorities to negotiate with Hezbollah over handing it over to the army, and second through a creeping approach to tighten the noose and try to take it at a low cost, without the likelihood of heading toward a wide war or major escalation. The source added that this explains the nature of the strikes Israel is carrying out and its bet on weakening the elements inside the hill after three months of siege, so that emptying and evacuating it becomes a fait accompli. The source said Israel's choice to go to a wide war is not in its interest, because an expansion of the war could lead to rockets falling on the north, undermining the narrative that it acted in the south to protect the north.