Netanyahu and Pompeo Meet in Brussels; Lebanon 'Control Hezbollah or Israel Will'

Israeli Prime Minister and Defense Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Monday evening, December 3, to discuss 'ways to counter Iran in the region.' This meeting in Brussels, the headquarters of the European Union, was originally scheduled for Wednesday but was moved up by two days due to Pompeo's schedule, as he had to return to the U.S. for George H.W. Bush's funeral. Netanyahu had previously tweeted that he was going to a 'significant meeting' with the U.S. Secretary of State to discuss 'a series of regional developments and ways to prevent Iranian aggression and its proxies at Israel's northern border, as well as other issues.' Pompeo had stated before the meeting that 'the strong U.S. relationship with allies like Israel is essential to counter Iran's destabilizing and malign activities in the Middle East.' Israeli television networks reported that during the Netanyahu-Pompeo meeting, the Israeli Prime Minister asked the U.S. to convey a message to Lebanese officials that 'either they control Hezbollah or Israel will.' Reports indicate that a similar message from Israel has also been sent to Lebanon by the French government. According to Haaretz, General Amos Yadlin, a former Israeli military commander, said last Thursday that the Israel-Iran conflict, which had recently manifested as multiple Israeli attacks on Iranian targets in Syria, is now 'spreading to other countries.' This senior Israeli military figure added that due to pressure from Russia, Iran has 'changed tactics' and 'changed behavior' in Syria in recent months, which is why Israeli attacks on Syria had temporarily ceased. Haaretz reported that Israel lifted the self-imposed restrictions it had on attacking Syria with an attack last Thursday. Syria reported that Israel targeted the Al-Kiswah area near Damascus with missiles; despite official silence regarding such an attack, Israel denied Syria's claim that an Israeli fighter jet was shot down. Israeli media say there is a connection between the increase in 'suspicious' Iranian flights to Lebanon, suspected of carrying weapons for Hezbollah, and the Israeli attack attributed to last Thursday night. Haaretz added that the enhancement of Hezbollah's military capabilities, due to the organization's militants' years of presence in the Syrian civil war and the return of operational units to Lebanon following recent calm in Syria, has 'worried' the Israeli army. Recently, Israeli military commanders have stated that in the event of a new military conflict with Hezbollah, Lebanon will be indiscriminately targeted by Israeli attacks, with no distinction between Hezbollah and the Lebanese army. Last Friday, Hezbollah warned Israel with a Hebrew subtitle that 'if it dares to attack Lebanon, it will regret it.' Hassan Nasrallah, the Secretary-General of Hezbollah, stated that 'every Israeli attack will be responded to.' According to the Israeli state television network, Netanyahu expressed concern during his meeting with Pompeo about the increase in Iranian activities in Iraq as well. The U.S. had previously asked Israel to refrain from attacking Iranian targets and Iranian allies such as the Popular Mobilization Forces in Iraq. Netanyahu has also been the Defense Minister for two weeks; Israeli media report that since he took this position, he has spent most of his time not in the Prime Minister's office in Jerusalem, but in the central Ministry of Defense building in Tel Aviv. In recent days, Netanyahu has repeatedly stated that there are 'vital issues' for Israel that its allies must stand by him on; Israeli media interpreted these remarks as a sign of a potential war on Israel's northern front. Yossi Cohen, head of the Mossad intelligence agency, Meir Ben-Shabbat, National Security Advisor, and several other Israeli officials accompanied the Prime Minister during the Brussels meeting. Israeli media showed images of Netanyahu and his delegation wearing Jewish religious skullcaps and lighting a Hanukkah candle before the official talks began.