ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the deterrence dynamics in the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah from the early 1990s to the present. It argues that Israel's determination to hold on to the Security Zone in southern Lebanon ultimately curtailed its resolve, limiting its strategic latitude and undermining its preparedness to unleash the Israel Defense Forces' (IDF) overwhelming conventional military capacity against Hezbollah. Israel's fierce and unexpected response to Hezbollah's kidnapping of two IDF soldiers, which sparked the war, ultimately enhanced Israel's reputation for resolve and gave rise to a more robust and credible Israeli deterrence posture. The chapter explores the contours of the Israel-Hezbollah conflict and its shifting deterrence dynamics from the early 1990s to the present. It looks at the conflict before and after the Second Lebanon War of 2006. The conflict between Israel and Hezbollah can be traced back to Israel's June 1982 invasion of Lebanon, which was originally designed to force the PLO out of Israel's northern neighbor.
