Former deputy foreign minister Yossi Beilin, of…

Former deputy foreign minister Yossi Beilin, of the Labor Party, places himself at the head of a popular movement for Israeli withdrawal from south Lebanon on November 9.

In response, Major General Antoine Lahad, commander of the Israeli-backed South Lebanese Army (SLA), warns that if Israel abandons him and his men, they might join the Hezbollah.

Israeli spokespersons insist that a unilateral pullback would put Israeli towns and villages at risk.

They argue that a withdrawal is possible only in the context of a wider peace deal with Syria, the one power in the area that can control the Hezbollah.

Peace talks between Israel and Syria remain frozen, however, as Netanyahu refuses to continue the negotiations begun by the previous Labor government.