The Epidemic And Hizbullah Add To Netanyahoo's Problems
The Israeli government under Prime Minster Benjamin Netanyahoo faces two crises. Hizbullah, the Lebanese resistance organization, has announced that it will take revenge for one of its soldiers Israel killed. A botched handling of the Covid-19 epidemic by the government has come under much criticism. Together with the criminal proceedings against Netanyahoo any of the above could lead to his fall.
Yesterday Israel claimed that Hizbollah soldiers had crossed its northern border but were pushed back:
Israeli forces on Monday exchanged fire with Hezbollah militants along the volatile Israeli-Lebanese frontier, as Israeli civilians living in the area were ordered to remain indoors amid the heaviest fighting between the bitter enemies in nearly a year.The fighting occurred in an area known as Chebaa Farms, which was captured by Israel in the 1967 Middle East war and is claimed by Lebanon. Residents of southern Lebanon near the border reported Israeli shelling that continued for more than an hour.
The fighting came as Israel was on heightened alert for a possible attack by Hezbollah, after an Israeli airstrike in Syria killed a Hezbollah militant last week. Israel has carried out dozens of airstrikes in Syria in recent years, targeting what it says are Iranian weapons shipments bound for Hezbollah in Lebanon.
Hizbullah leader Hassan Nasrallah had promised that his organization would take revenge for each of its soldiers killed in Israeli attacks in Syria. Knowing that some hit will come the Israeli army was put on high alert and additional forces were moved towards the border area
But the long nervous guarding of the border while waiting for Hizbullah's hit must have induced some hallucinations. There was no Hizbullah there:
Hezbollah said its fighters were not involved in any fighting along the border with Israel.In a statement following the clashes, the group said all claims by Israeli media about an infiltration attempt by Hezbollah into Israel "are not true at all, and are attempts to invent illusive victories."
Hezbollah said the group's retaliation for its member killed by an Israeli strike in Syria "is definitely coming, and the Zionists should remain waiting for the punishment for their crimes."
The Israeli army claims it has footage of the incident:
Israeli defense officials scoffed at the terror group’s denial, saying the infiltration attempt had been filmed by military security cameras and that the operatives who took part in it were armed. The Israel Defense Forces said it was considering releasing the footage from the incident.
But a day after the incident no footage has been released. The Israeli press is suspicious about the army's claim:
This alleged attempted attack was somewhat peculiar, occurring in the middle of the afternoon when visibility is highest and in an area that — even when border tensions aren’t running high — is under constant surveillance as it has regularly been the site of Hezbollah attacks on Israeli troops. Under those conditions, success would be unlikely. According to the military, the Hezbollah operatives never fired a shot during their infiltration.
...
Israel, for some reason, has not sought to disprove Hezbollah’s denial by releasing its security camera footage of the Hezbollah operatives, which would at least prove if armed men indeed infiltrated into Israeli territory from Lebanon.
Commentators seem to believe Hizbullah's statements more then their own army's pronouncement:
In this day and age, everything is filmed. So where is the footage of the infiltrators crossing into Israel? Where is the drone footage of the area at the time of the incident?
...
Neither side has released anything, and the Israeli public is now questioning whether anything actually happened.Responding to skepticism that already was emerging Monday evening, Amos Yadlin, former head of IDF Military Intelligence, said he believed the IDF more than Hezbollah and its leader, Hassan Nasrallah, who he said is a liar and manipulator.
But the IDF does not get off scot-free. It has manipulated events in the past, and journalists and the public are justified to question what happened on Monday.
What most likely happened is that some nervous Israeli soldiers shot at some moving twigs. The question is who or what moved those twigs.
Keeping the Israeli army on alert is a cheap way for Hizbullah to gain an advantage.
After an uncontrolled reopening from a lockdown Israel was hit by a much larger second outbreak of Covid-19.
Its current level of 186 average new cases per 1 million population is nearly as high as the current U.S. count.
The racist Israel government will never get the Covid-19 epidemic under control unless it coordinates with the Palestinian government so that both can take common measures. But instead of doing that it destroys Covid-19 test facilities the Palestinians have built and hinders their procurement of equipment and medicines. There are many daily contacts between the Jewish population and the Palestinian people. Israel's government seems not to understand that one can not control an epidemic for only one half of a population.
The Israeli government is now haggling with the parliament over new restrictions. The experts are desperate. The people are furious with Netanyahoo. There have been regular demonstrations in front of his home as well as clashes with the police.
The current Israeli coalition government is unstable and could easily break apart.
Under these circumstance Hizbullah has time on its side. There will probably be more moving twigs and more nervous soldiers who will shoot at them. The "Hollywood army", as Nasrallah has called the Israeli Defense Forces, can then claim more victories.
But after a few weeks its soldiers will lower their guard. They will become more careless and make mistakes. That will be the right moment to take revenge.
Hizbullah does not expect that it will cause a war:
"The atmosphere does not indicate a war ... It's unlikely, the atmosphere of war in the next few months," [Hizbullah deputy leader] Sheikh Naim Qassem said in an interview with pro-Damascus television station al Mayadeen.
...
"There is no change of rules of engagement and the deterrent equation with Israel exists and we are not planning to change it," Qassem said.
The Israeli government is not in a position that allows it to wage a war against Hizbullah and to absorb the hundreds of rockets per day that would rain down on Israel's forces. That would be the end of Netanyahoo's government.
That gives Hizbullah the chance to select the kind and timing of its revenge for the greatest political effect. One wonders what Nasrallah has in mind.
Posted by b on July 28, 2020 at 16:58 UTC | Permalink
Another slice of that interview with Hizbullah deputy leader, Sheikh Naim Qassem, is given here, almost as a source of fun:
‘We won’t reveal our response, let Israel speculate’: Hezbollah’s No. 2
Hezbollah has seen lately how jittery the Israelis have become waiting for its response to some bravado-induced foolishness of Israel. We saw how the IDF put cardboard cutouts in their armored vehicles on the border, rather than be killed by the expected attack.
It's a grim business, but it's almost funny. It's certainly contemptible on the part of Israel, and Hezbollah appears to be relishing this humiliation of the imperial occupier, revealed increasingly to have no clothes (except cardboard perhaps).
~~
You would have to be an Israeli spook - or else one from the US - to be able to make your mouth work around the words to say that Nasrallah is a "liar". These people deserve nothing.
Posted by: Grieved | Jul 28 2020 17:48 utc | 2
I recall the Zionists camouflaging cameras to look like rocks. So, I'll bet Hezbollah has made a few trees and shrubs move via remote control as b suggests; maybe a human silhouette pops up like they do at firing ranges then quickly drops down again. I wonder what the poll result would be from this question asked of the Zionist population: Do you feel you've made a prison for yourself within Occupied Palestine?
Posted by: karlof1 | Jul 28 2020 18:01 utc | 3
thanks b... netan''yahoo'' seems to be holding out okay... nothing seems to take him down.... he seems like a master of distraction.. something is happening over here, so lets distract with some bullshit over here... that seems to work well for him.. you would think the people of israel would want to get rid of him, but apparently not!
Posted by: james | Jul 28 2020 18:14 utc | 4
Speaking of Hezbollah, Gareth Porter claims new evidence indicates that elements of the Argentinian govt and not Hezbollah bombed the Jewish Community Center in 1994 https://thegrayzone.com/2020/07/26/police-spys-testimony-official-us-israeli-amia-bombing/ He documents strong anti-Jewish forces in the govt as well as them obtaining building schematics shortly before the bombing. Also, two different sources believed that the bomb exploded inside rather than outside the building as required for the Hezbollah narrative.
Posted by: Christian J. Chuba | Jul 28 2020 18:16 utc | 5
From SouthFront: "A few hours after the incident on the Lebanese-Israeli contact line, rockets struck US-operated military bases in Iraq. The strike on Camp Speicher, located near Tikrit, caused a large explosion on the site. At the same time, at least three rockets targeted another US-operated military base – Camp Taji, located near Baghdad. According to local media, one rocket hit an Iraqi helicopter while another landed in an artillery weapon depot. The third rocket landed in the area of the 2nd Air Force Squadron but did not explode."
Posted by: Maracatu | Jul 28 2020 19:57 utc | 6
Hezbollah and Sheikh Nasrallah especially are masters of psychological warfare. Just by saying that they'll avenge the death of a soldier killed by Israelis often enough and loudly enough gives Israel the heebie-jeebies and locks that country into a rigid mind-set that in the long term will be destructive. Instead of apologising to Hezbollah and making compensation to the soldier's family, and other families of dead Hezbollah soldiers, there can be no moving forward for Israel. The country will continue on its road to ruin through more spending on arms and surveillance, and less on social welfare if it still exists in Israel.
Posted by: Jen | Jul 28 2020 20:19 utc | 7
@ 7 jen... does this quote of yours remind you of any other country you can think of??
"there can be no moving forward for Israel. The country will continue on its road to ruin through more spending on arms and surveillance, and less on social welfare if it still exists in Israel."
Posted by: james | Jul 28 2020 20:26 utc | 8
History seems to be rhyming again.
This happens in July, just like the 2006 war.
Like Olmert then, Netanyahoo is also facing charges and creating distractions that might lead to uncontrollable escalations. If that is his intention, he appears to have failed to create a large enough conflagaration.
Therefore he will try again. Expect another event in the next few days or weeks.
Posted by: Arch | Jul 28 2020 20:27 utc | 9
Ha, B is playing again with words, but crossed the line of truth to deliver a real lie that can be easily checked by anyone. I quote B :
" The Israeli press is suspicious about the army's claim".
So I followed the link to learn about the suspected imaginary and political convenient attack but surprise : the article is about the irrelevant way the incursion occurred nor its existence. Here is the relevant part of the link :
"This alleged attempted attack was somewhat peculiar, occurring in the middle of the afternoon when visibility is highest and in an area that — even when border tensions aren’t running high — is under constant surveillance as it has regularly been the site of Hezbollah attacks on Israeli troops. Under those conditions, success would be unlikely. According to the military, the Hezbollah operatives never fired a shot during their infiltration. Lebanese news outlets speculated the group may have been performing reconnaissance rather than attempting to conduct an attack.
"
Thanks b for the link, I learned something about this incident.
So what really happened ? My impression is that Bankrupted Hezbollah is not in good posture and daily humiliated by Israel. It does not want to start a war but had to do something. So they staged an idiot incursion on the most heavily monitored sector, under the eyes of zillion of censors & drones and in order to save face and Israel does not seems to be interested in starting a war on Hezbollah timing. There is some logic in this. Now Hez can claim a "divine reconnaissance" and distribute candy in the street and at burial.
In all cases b is letting his hatred to draw him in the domain of the Wishful thinking, in a realm populated with cowards soldiers pursued by super Hezbollah heroes under the camera of obsolete drones, jammed on requests by the Iranian tech.
I wish you good dreams.
Posted by: mugen23 | Jul 28 2020 21:21 utc | 11
@Posted by: Jen | Jul 28 2020 20:19 utc | 7
But Israel just tried to apologize to Hezbollah...through the UN...arguing they did not know Hezbollah people was present at the strike site...
Posted by: H.Schmatz | Jul 28 2020 21:50 utc | 12
Definition of paranoid psychosis—— A fear of real or imagined threats.
Just becouse America and Israel (same thing really) are paranoid doesn’t mean most of the rest of the world aren’t out to get them.
Posted by: Mark2 | Jul 28 2020 21:54 utc | 13
@Posted by: H.Schmatz | Jul 28 2020 21:50 utc | 12
Of course, who is to believe them, after hundreds of strikes no matter who falls, and as if it were the first time they kill a Hezbollah member/leader...and this happening just after the US administration is trying to drown Lebanon through financial means unless it sells Hezbollah out...
This "apology" acts as "cry wolf"....It is a custom of psychos in not few times to apologize...after the evil is done and there is no remedy,...late....
Posted by: H.Schmatz | Jul 28 2020 22:04 utc | 14
"But the long nervous guarding of the border while waiting for Hizbullah's hit must have induced some hallucinations."
It's hardly surprising. After all "Israel" itself is a collective hallucination.
There was an amusing news snippet about this nothing-burger in Oz media yesterday. An 'Israeli' big-wig apparently castigated the IDF for using men, instead of women to do boring stuff like watching the border for signs of infiltration. In his opinion, women are much better at staying focused when performing routine tasks, make fewer mistakes, and are less prone to succumbing to boredom.
The good thing about stories like this is that until there are more Good Jews than Nasty Jews in the world, the Nasty Jews will keep Chutzpah-ing themselves into deeper and deeper do-do.
Posted by: Hoarsewhisperer | Jul 28 2020 22:30 utc | 15
Bar another big time invasion by the US Army itself (much larger than the Iraq invasion), I don't see any way out for Israel. The game is basically over already.
And, sincerely, I don't think it would be different. Israel is an abortion of History and I often find myself dumbfounded about its existence. The equation simply can't be solved for Israel: it is an artificial nation born with an expiring date.
Yes, the War of Six-Day and the Yom Kippur Wars were impressive victories, but they happened right at the beginning of Israel's birth and still counted with the USA at its most beautiful and strong self. It's hard to think Israel can survive outside the scope of being an American school science project.
This unstable government was a logical conclusion of Israel's inner contradictions. It cannot be, at the same time, a Jewish State and a liberal democracy. Territorial expansion can mitigate this contradiction for a while, but after it lost the war against Hizbullah in 2006 and Assad's victory against US-backed ISIS in 2014, the historical cycle of conquest of the State of Israel is over (the West Bank is too small for any significant macroeconomic and geopolitical effect). It is now devouring itself.
How to humiliate the Hollywood Army: tie a piece of string to a branch in a danger zone and connect it to a cam on a small remote controlled motor and trigger it occasionally. Second trick to annoy the infrared camera surveillance is to place a dozen solar powered heat plane decoys - like resistance wire glued to cardboard and linked to battery that turns on from time to time at night for a few fleeting moments. Infrared red cameras trigger instantly in those circumstances. You can have a trigger happy and delusional hollywood army empty an entire arsenal on those games.
In the retreat from Gallipoli in WW1 the Australian soldiers rigged a water can to a rifle trigger and dripped in water until it reached the weight needed to pull the trigger. They ran a water pipe along the trenches dripping at random rates. Then they got well away to the shoreline before the other side even considered what was going on.
But reality indicates that an eye for an eye is the rule of middle east double entry bookkeeping so expect a dead hollywood army soldier sometime.
In these extreme times where Trump and his main friend are desperate, I am alert to a 'Gulf of Tonkin' incident and this latest phantom play could be the precursor trick to send Pontious Pompeo potty brain into hysterics and ultimately some military idiocy.
I am fairly certain that Hezbollah will vanquish the clowns.
Posted by: uncle tungsten | Jul 28 2020 22:59 utc | 17
The Israeli government, like the US government, has told so many lies nothing they say can be taken at face value. If Israel said the sun was setting, I would have to check to make sure it was!
Posted by: Dick | Jul 28 2020 23:27 utc | 19
One point I often read lately is that the Zionist Abomination is frantic to get some action done against the Resistance before Trump's mandate is over in November. Nonsense, there are no indications Biden and the Dems, if they win, would be any less subservient and servile to said pseudo-state..
Posted by: Lozion | Jul 28 2020 23:28 utc | 20
I watched footage yesterday of Israeli police cracking heads, using water cannon, and arresting Israeli Jewish Covid-19 protesters. Violent unrest of the Israeli Orthodox community isn't unusual, but this reminded me of Portland. It seems that a populace is satisfied and complacent with a villainous government if the villainy is turned on The Other, and especially if the populace can make some money from the villainy. But villains don't stop, and they're usually not competent or that kind to their own, so eventually the forces of oppression get turned on the populace. The wheels are coming off, but the Israeli regime continues to attack its neighbors like the US regime continues to attack Venezuela, Iran, China, etc. These populaces have made their beds.
Also, that former IDF spokesweasel reminds me of the useful Yiddish term "chutzpah."
Posted by: NoOneYouKnow | Jul 29 2020 0:09 utc | 21
James @ 8:
Of course, now that you mention it and now that I have seen my comment @ 7 again - hmm, I didn't phrase that third sentence too well! - I can think of most countries in Europe and the Five-Eyes nations.
"... Instead of apologising to Hezbollah and making compensation to the soldier's family, and other families of dead Hezbollah soldiers, there can be no moving forward for Israel ..."
I should have said:
"... Unless Israel apologises to Hezbollah and offers compensation to the soldier's family, and to other families of dead Hezbollah soldiers that its forces have killed, and reconciliation becomes a real alternative to digging one's own grave deeper and deeper until the sides cave in, there can be no moving forward for Israel away from self-destruction..."
Hope that sounds a bit better!
Posted by: Jen | Jul 29 2020 0:38 utc | 22
"The Israeli government is not in a position that allows it to wage a war against Hizbullah and to absorb the hundreds of rockets per day that would rain down on Israel's forces. That would be the end of Netanyahoo's government."
Precisely. As I've been saying all along, Hezbollah has the missile arsenal that it can keep the Israeli population in bomb shelters 24x7 for at least several months. This would decimate the Israeli economy, tick off the already angry electorate, and result in the government being brought down in the next election. The rabid Zionists who control the government can't afford that.
Israel can not remove Hezbollah by itself, and until it manages to get the US to help it do so (if it's even doable, which is debatable) Israel can not afford the US to start a war with Iran.
Nonetheless, Israel continues to agitate precisely for such a war as noted in this article from yesterday:
The Beginning of the U.S.-Iran Hot War?
“This is a historic opportunity,” an aid to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told journalist Ben Caspit late last year. “You have no idea what we can wheedle from the Americans now, what a golden opportunity we face when the US is about to enter an election year—if we have a unity government headed by [Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu.”That government has now been formed and Netanyahu is at its helm despite his ongoing trial on corruption charges. But what might the “historic opportunity” look like? Caspit asserts: “Netanyahu’s people, headed by minister Yuval Steinitz clearly state that a widespread war is likely to erupt in the next six months between Iran and its adversaries in the region, including Israel.” Caspit adds that Israeli defense minister Naftali Bennet has been “ramping up the warmongering” and “threatens Iran on an almost daily basis.”
Posted by: Richard Steven Hack | Jul 29 2020 0:50 utc | 23
the 2006 defeat of IDF overrated military break the myth of israeli superiority in warfighting. While they have superior air force , it also been showen to the door by syrian air defense and now only dared to fire their “smart” and expensive weapons from outside syria.
Nasrallah hint at big “surprise” for idf in the next major conflict , this refer to hezbollah drone capabilities and air defense which will wreak havoc to israeli helicopter operations and jet strikes in next hez vs idf contest.
remember , in 2006 hesbollah shot down a CH53 heli and killed everyone on board , imagine their capability today with modern MANPADS in their inventory and other medium range SAM hidden in tunnels/cave system..
Posted by: milomilo | Jul 29 2020 1:54 utc | 25
Hezbollah and Sheikh Nasrallah especially are masters of psychological warfare....
Posted by: Jen | Jul 28 2020 20:19 utc | 7
I think that you overpraise. The top fear monger who has the ear of Israelis is Netanyahu himself. Netanyahu is a master of convincing the population that he strives to deliver whatever is possible to the (Jewish) population, and no one can be smarter than him. That does not convince the majority, but the unconvinced are split into three groups that cannot politically cooperate: "ultra-Orthodox" (similar to traditional Orthodox and Hassidim of 100 years ago), anti-Orthodox "modern Israelis" and Palestinians. There are also "modern Orthodox" who are proper pro-Netanyahu fascists, "ultra-" are quite different.
Posted by: Piotr Berman | Jul 29 2020 4:16 utc | 26
Shelters from missiles are Covid 9 prone...Posted by: Virgile | Jul 28 2020 23:02 utc | 18
You've just revealed why this would be the perfect time for Hezbollah to strike ...
Posted by: Arch | Jul 29 2020 4:40 utc | 27
@ 22 jen.. welcome to my reality... i typically write something and think i could have worded that better ( after its posted!).. cheers..
Posted by: james | Jul 29 2020 5:15 utc | 28
My impression is that Bankrupted Hezbollah is not in good posture and daily humiliated by Israel.
Posted by: mugen23 | Jul 28 2020 21:21 utc | 11
Not surprisingly the latest hasbara troll can't get it right, and tells us the reverse of the truth in order to cover up Israeli weakness.
Hizbullah can't be "bankrupted", whatever the economic situation of Lebanon, grave as it is. Because: Hizbullah have their stash of missiles already - the missiles which threaten to wreck Israel as it is today, and which can't be destroyed. As long as the Hizbullah operators can eat, the threat remains in existence. And do not forget that Hizbullah militiamen come from a predominantly rural population: rural people eat in wartime, when urban populations starve.
I know that Israel is congratulating itself on Lebanese economic woes, and trying hard to make them worse. But they are in too much of a hurry - nothing has changed strategically. The people suffering are the government and the Beirutis, not Hizbullah. If the crisis in Lebanon continues, there will be a big economic change on the lines of what happened in Iraq - people will go back to cultivating the land, as they can't afford to import food.
Posted by: Laguerre | Jul 29 2020 7:35 utc | 29
I watched an interesting lecture by Avi Shlaim the other day on "the Spectre of Annexation"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tAV4s1_VOK8
Although he didn't say it, the talk convinced me that Netanyahu won't go through with the annexation. Shlaim depicts Netanyahu as a man of the status quo. Better for Israel to retain an ambiguous policy, as with nuclear weapons, rather than clarify the position and attract retribution. Annexation is Trump's policy, for domestic electoral reasons.
'Status quo' also means not risking Israel's position in a war that might go wrong. Even an unlosable war, as in Gaza 2014, Netanyahu nearly lost: IDF ground troops were halted by the virtually unarmed Gaza militias, and the position had to be recovered by uncontrolled bombing of anything in sight. Israel does not have a solution for this weakness. It is the main factor, along with the Hizbullah militias, behind Israel's strategic stance.
Posted by: Laguerre | Jul 29 2020 7:59 utc | 30
There is something else to consider here: The economic meltdown and aggression by the US, via the Caesar Act, on Lebanon. Predictably, Western propaganda/media and some non-Shia portions of the Lebanese population try to pin the situation on Hezbollah. So, is responding to Israel at this point good for Hezbollah, from a domestic political standpoint?
Posted by: fx | Jul 29 2020 8:30 utc | 31
Well, as long as there's a serious Covid issue in Israel, IDF cannot afford a war with Hizbullah. You definitely don't want to force people across a third of the country to have to bunker down together in densely-packed underground shelters for hours, when they should practice social distancing and avoid to contaminate each other.
Posted by: Clueless Joe | Jul 29 2020 10:00 utc | 32
@Posted by: Piotr Berman | Jul 29 2020 4:16 utc | 26
Everybody and their dogs in Israel watch Nasrallah speeches...more than anything to know what they can expect the next moment they commit one more of their criminal acts.
Due his background, I fear his word is more trusted in Israel than that of Netanyahoo...
Posted by: H.Schmatz | Jul 29 2020 10:03 utc | 33
So, is responding to Israel at this point good for Hezbollah, from a domestic political standpoint?
Posted by: fx | Jul 29 2020 8:30 utc | 31
Hezbollah has long accepted that there are enemy from within Lebanese borders. They've said it that balance of deterrence are to be kept so it really matter little to them that there'll be some opposition from their side of the border.
Posted by: Lucci | Jul 29 2020 12:10 utc | 34
@31
Yes.
It's called detente. You don't need nuclear weapons for that. The lunatics that run the asylum in Israel should know by now that they can't get away with murdering Hezbollah members, HZB has always exacted an appropriate revenge. They will choose their time and place.
The current financial crisis in Lebanon has nothing to do with HZB. That's largely because of corrupt merchant bankers and the filthy rich class that constantly need to be richer. They are guys that the almighty US should be sanctioning for ruining their country, rather than self-declared political enemies. B pointed that out himself in a recent post.
Posted by: Ant. | Jul 29 2020 12:23 utc | 35
An interesting review of current Lebanon from Thierry Meyssan, who knows a thing or three:
https://www.voltairenet.org/article210581.html
Posted by: Ant. | Jul 29 2020 13:10 utc | 36
On Israel as America's pet project:
I know that having a permanent footing on the Levant is always nice (specially for an Empire on the other side of the Atlantic), but America's obsession with Israel is really something, very puzzling. I think it's an amalgamation with post-war trauma, the fact that the Jewish make a substantial portion of America's elite, the necessity of brewing Christian fundamentalism during the Cold War, geopolitics and maybe even a watchdog over the European Peninsula. Maybe there's even symbolic value for propaganda purposes, I don't know.
But really, this unconditional love for Israel by the world greatest empire ever invented by humanity is something to behold. Truly puzzling.
But really, this unconditional love for Israel by the world greatest empire ever invented by humanity is something to behold. Truly puzzling.
Posted by: vk | Jul 29 2020 16:42 utc | 37
I agree.
I can guess and found relative mark that Israel is another British colonial project. One that take account of their past bitter experience with locals and the colony's independence (US in example).
So they made a colony made of distinctly different people than the locals that are much more familiar with the western people (white, anglos) and made definite reason they'll be at odds with their neighbors by naming them and taken the identity of Israel (an end of century of country described to be hostile by religious scripture). Their goal is to make Israel forever a satellite and client to them and to justify their own presence in middle east.
I believe never in their mind to imagine that the role later would be reversed.
I think these unconditional love origin were from their own propaganda directed to their own citizens to make them believe that Israel is their common national interest rather than just pure geopolitical interest. Had they not considered to be their common interest there'll be little justification that can be used to support Israel lavishly.
This explanation however can't explain why the Soviet Union helped them built Israel.
Posted by: Lucci | Jul 29 2020 17:28 utc | 38
" This explanation however can't explain why the Soviet Union helped them built Israel. "
It also doesnt explain why most countries, Russia and the Soviet Union included, are always so concerned about Israhel's and Jewish interests.
Posted by: Fog of War | Jul 29 2020 21:38 utc | 39
VK @ 37, Lucci @ 38:
The "unconditional love" you speak of, that the US supposedly has for Israel, arose after the Six-Day War in 1967 when Israel blitzed and incapacitated Egyptian airforces and grabbed territory in both Egypt and Syria (the Golan Heights).
The historical context at the time may have been significant. Was the US army doing well in the Vietnam War by June 1967 when the war took place? Probably not. At the same time Martin Luther King was publicly protesting against the war and attracting a lot of attention.
The possibility exists that even before then US-Israeli relations might have been becoming warmer (and the war did slot easily into the mindset of many religious organisations in both the US and Israel as a sign of the imminent arrival of the Messiah) but after the Six-Day War the lovefest probably ratcheted up several notches on the scale to 11 out of 10.
Posted by: Jen | Jul 30 2020 0:01 utc | 41
It also doesnt explain why most countries, Russia and the Soviet Union included, are always so concerned about Israhel's and Jewish interests.
Posted by: Fog of War | Jul 29 2020 21:38 utc | 39
Only US and it's western led hemisphere that conform to Israel or Jewish interest. It is just by extension. Soviet Union perhaps because they have many Jewish Bolsheviks which now no longer true with Russia (especially after they entered Syria).
There's a referendum in the UN that are raised when Israel want to take Jerusalem as it undivided capital. Those most country rejected them didn't they ?
Posted by: Lucci | Jul 30 2020 6:13 utc | 42
The possibility exists that even before then US-Israeli relations might have been becoming warmer (and the war did slot easily into the mindset of many religious organisations in both the US and Israel as a sign of the imminent arrival of the Messiah) but after the Six-Day War the lovefest probably ratcheted up several notches on the scale to 11 out of 10.
Posted by: Jen | Jul 30 2020 0:01 utc | 41
There's much more before that. Propaganda aimed to their citizens really start ever since the creation of Jewish only settlement in Palestine. Remember those 6 millions jews magic number ? You can find many snippets of newspapers that use them to rally donations or just repeat the 6 million Holocaust story. It start ever since then and gained more momentum after arab Israeli war.
My Polish friend that lived in US tells me that Jewish perception on the western public wasn't always like these days. They're viewed as dishonest, lazy, and antichristian before world war 2. These perception changes after Holocaust propaganda and arab Israeli war where their victory retold in mythical way.
Posted by: Lucci | Jul 30 2020 6:26 utc | 43
There is opposition in Israel and it is getting press.
Posted by: uncle tungsten | Jul 30 2020 11:07 utc | 44
" There's a referendum in the UN that are raised when Israel want to take Jerusalem as it undivided capital. Those most country rejected them didn't they ? "
Ultimately, most of those countries dont matter that much in the grand scheme of things, do they ?
Posted by: Fog of War | Jul 30 2020 19:18 utc | 45
@Lucci | Jul 30 2020 6:13 utc | 42
There's a referendum in the UN that are raised when Israel want to take Jerusalem as it undivided capital. Those most country rejected them didn't they ?
Yes, on December 17, 2017, UNGA Resolution ES-10/L.22 declared that the US's recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital was "null and void". This passed by a vote of 128-9.
Posted by: Cyril | Jul 31 2020 2:20 utc | 46
@Cyril | Jul 31 2020 2:20 utc | 46
Oops, make that "December 21, 2017".
Posted by: Cyril | Jul 31 2020 2:25 utc | 47
- Nice piece of psychological warfare: promising revenge and keep the israeli army & government at high alert. And then just do NOTHING.
Posted by: Willy2 | Jul 31 2020 6:34 utc | 48
I don't think Hezbollah will retaliate. doing that will give Netanyahu a chance to escalate and help his friend, Trump, in the election. Hezbollah claimed that Israel request that there be no retaliation, and in exchange, Israel won't attack Hezbollah forces in Syria again.
Posted by: The Objectice | Aug 3 2020 7:04 utc | 49
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Good for Nasrallah and his army , it is time to teach Netanyahoo the bastard rule of engagement.
It is a time to stop hitting Syrian territory, I think the Syrian army should also retaliate especially in these difficult time for Israel .
Revenge , revenge , the Arabic tradition, revenge even after 40 years , the Arabs never forget , nor never forgive .
I hope that will hold true for the Syrian government.
Posted by: Bobby | Jul 28 2020 17:37 utc | 1