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The Middle East is sitting on a powder keg with Israel preparing for a war with Lebanon, simultaneously as its assault on Gaza continues unabated and the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) fuel a broadening third front in the volatile Israeli-occupied West Bank.
As Israeli fighter jets continually roar overhead in Jerusalem and Ramallah on their way to carry out bombing sorties over southern Lebanon, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s fight for his political survival on various levels is dovetailing with factional infighting in the Israeli Knesset, Israel’s burning borders, and the possibility of a regional conflagration.
Mustafa Barghouti, Leader of the Palestinian National Initiative party, said he was afraid that Netanyahu would proceed with a major attack on Lebanon despite the warnings of America and others.
“Netanyahu doesn’t care about Israelis, the Israeli hostages in Gaza or avoiding a regional war,” Barghouti told Byline Times. “He cares only about his political survival. He is facing five corruption cases and he knows that when the war ends that is the end of his political career and a high chance of him going to jail.”
Israel plans to wind down its Gaza operation over the next few weeks in preparation for moving troops to the north of Israel.
The Jewish state has already prepared for mass burials in Israel following Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah’s warning that, if Israel went ahead with its threat of a major military operation in Lebanon, the Shi’ite organisation would respond without limits.
Israel Accused of Using White Phosphorus in Lebanon Amid Fears of an All-Out War and as ‘Hidden Crisis’ Unfolds
Since the beginning of the conflict, about 90,000 southern Lebanese have been forced from their homes and at least 350 people have been killed
The IDF also carried out a military assessment last week in preparation for a possible war with Lebanon.
Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant met recently with US officials in what is reported to be coordination with Washington over an Israeli military assault on Lebanon, the war in Gaza, and to gauge American support – receiving mixed signals in response.
Netanyahu is really the biggest danger to the state of Israel.
Gonen Ben Itzhak, former member of Israel’s domestic intelligence agency
While the US said that it would support Israel with militarily hardware and intelligence, without putting American soldiers on the ground, US State Department officials warned that there was a high probability that Iran would get involved and that there was no guarantee that Israel’s defence system would offer protection against the barrage of rockets from Hezbollah.
Barghouti said that Gallant was also pushing for war because he too bears responsibility for the Israeli intelligence failure that preceded Hamas’ 7 October 2023 attack on Israel, and that all of this would come to light when the fighting stops.
Netanyahu is facing enormous criticism from ordinary Israelis who want new elections and his Government brought down. The families of Israeli hostages languishing in Gaza are particularly angry, and have repeatedly accused him of missing several chances for a prisoner exchange with Hamas.
Not only is Netanyahu continuing to fall out with his coalition partners, and the Israeli public, he has also been openly contradicted by Israeli reservists and by Government-appointed IDF spokesman Daniel Hagari, who said the belief