Israel has reportedly sent a message to the Lebanese government via Paris demanding that it act against the Hezbollah terror group’s rocket factories in the country, saying if Lebanon refused to do so, Israel could take military action.
The message was delivered by Israel’s deputy national security adviser Eitan Ben-David to Orléan la-Chevalier, a top adviser to French President Emmanuel Macron, during the latter’s visit in Jerusalem on Monday, according to Israel’s Channel 10 news.
“The Lebanese government must be careful when it comes to Hezbollah’s rocket factories. If the issue isn’t dealt with through diplomatic means by the Lebanese government, Israel will act on its own,” the message read, according to the report, which cited unnamed “Western diplomatic sources.”
Ben-David asked that la-Chevalier deliver the message to Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri.
France has close longstanding ties with Lebanon, and is considered close to Hariri.
The Prime Minister’s Office declined to comment Thursday on the report.
Ben-David said Israel would be patient, and was willing to wait to see if Lebanon took steps against the factories, but said it would not allow their construction to continue undisturbed.
Largely funded by Iran, Hezbollah remains popular in Lebanon, where it has transformed into a potent political force allied with President Michel Aoun. Many politicians have balked at calls to force Hezbollah to disarm.
Aoun recently denied a claim by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that Iran was upgrading Hezbollah missiles at secret facilities inside Beirut, taking journalists and diplomats on tours of some of the alleged sites several days later.
Netanyahu had revealed the sites during a speech at the United Nations General Assembly in a bid to spur international action. He claimed the technology would allow the missiles to hit within 10 meters (32 feet) of its target.
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