BEIRUT – The news about 'Ali Al-Taher' Hill has been ongoing since June of this year. The ‘Israeli’ political and strategic discussions, discussed on their talk shows and then followed by the rest of the regional TV channels and media outlets, made it the most famous hill ever. It was a dilemma manufactured by 'Israel,' serving as a political and distraction tool more than anything else.

The Hill is located in the eastern part of Nabatieh District in South Lebanon, directly to the north of the Litani River. It is part of a continuous ridge of heights that were occupied before 2000. Ali al-Taher is located between two towns, Kfar Tibnit and Nabatieh al-Fawqa. The first one was partly occupied and bombed by the ‘Israeli’ [army], and the second is daily bombarded.

The bombardment that attracted media attention in ‘Israel’, followed by the others, was actually serving several goals ‘Israel’ needed to achieve. The first is to divert attention from occupying more areas, particularly in Sour District, where it is now on the verge of seizing control over the coast extending from the two towns, Henneya and ‘Ezeia, towards Mansoury, which is 11.6–13 km to the north of Naqoura.

Mansoury has now been heavily destroyed by the occupation army. The town’s citizens were evicted, as the world watched for the last three months the ‘enchanting news’ of Ali al-Taher—as well as some political powers and their media spin—while the devastating violations committed in Mansoury and its sisters were marginalized.

Intriguingly, the regional and local reports on Ali al-Taher mirrored exactly the version of events published by Maariv. The months of silence and lack of confirmation from the resistance left everyone in a void. Therefore, as everyone was looking for news, the ones found were from the Zionist media, unfortunately.

Consequently, once Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced ‘operational control’ over the hill on the 3rd of September, he indicated that the enemy now had the capacity to establish total geographical fire control over the ridge, while neutralizing any ground or underground threats originating from the site; hence, the rest of the local and regional reports followed brainlessly.

On Thursday, the 10th of this month, the ‘Israeli’ occupation blasted the bottom of the hill and claimed that whatever was left in the Ali al-Taher facility was turned into ashes. Ironically, the Zionist media spoke about the real bravery the resistance men showed; they fought fiercely, they said, as if the fights took place with swords and shields. Eventually, they declared them all dead in the explosion, and the brainless followed.

Ali al-Taher was a strategic observation point for the resistance in the South. They were able to monitor the enemy, supposedly; the point is now lost. As for the enemy, it means that it has the ability to exercise complete geographical and fire control over the area, and to neutralize any ground or underground threat emanating from it. For others, it was another failure for Hezbollah. Even after Netanyahu’s declaration of the success of ‘operational control’, the hill and the surrounding areas are still being bombarded daily.

The funny politics, I would call it, leads to the second goal, which is his eternal goal: the need for a victory to win the elections! He needed a victory or an accomplishment to raise the polls in his favor, while he is facing America’s first choice in the coming elections, Gadi Eizenkot.

In spite of all Netanyahu’s supposed achievements in occupying south Syria, Gaza, south Lebanon, and seizing control over the West Bank, he is failing to win the majority of the illegitimate entity occupying Palestine to vote for him. The polls showed that Eizenkot leads in the number of seats in the Knesset, even though by a small difference.

Recent polls indicate that Eisenkot, or the "Yashar" Party, leads with 22 to 25 seats, followed by the "Likud" Party with 19 to 23 seats. Accordingly, Eizenkot is the preferred candidate to lead ‘Israel’ with 42% of the votes, compared to Netanyahu's 35% to 38%. Despite these standings, a persistent political stalemate remains, as the opposition and governing coalition blocs capture 53 to 57 and 52 to 53 seats, respectively, leaving neither side able to independently reach the 61-seat majority required to form a government.

Going back to the military operation on Ali al-Taher, once it ended, it was declared an ‘Operational Control’ by Netanyahu, which literally means that ‘Israel’ is able to move and strike freely. For Netanyahu, the hill is no longer a threat to the entity’s colonies in northern Palestine. However, in spite of the “magnificent victory”, the polls did not change. Though, by bombarding the base of the hill, Netanyahu achieved his third goal and brought closure to Ali al-Taher. This allowed him to move on to the second step and justify his next declaration: withdrawing to a 3 km occupied zone in southern Lebanon instead of continuing to spread his army across 10 km as a buffer zone.

It is actually the ‘Israeli’ army that needed the closure as much as Netanyahu did. Maybe the Lebanese authority needed such a closure to justify another round of useless talks with the ‘Israeli’ in Italy. For the enemy, it was the need to justify its withdrawal due to significant reasons: one of them is that three years of continuous war since 7th of October 2023 have exhausted its army logistically; secondly, the ability of ‘Israeli’ soldiers to continue performing their tasks is fading. Thirdly, the Americans are fed up with Israel’s ongoing wars, especially as there are serious reports about shortages needed to maintain costly battles on several fronts: Lebanon, Syria, the West Bank, and Gaza. Furthermore, it is not just Netanyahu; ‘Israel’ as a whole seriously intends to enter a new round of confrontation with Iran.