Akhbar al-Khaleej, Bahrain, October 7
In a recent meeting with his top military brass, Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman warned army generals that Jerusalem’s next war would be fought on multiple fronts; namely, in Lebanon, Syria, and the Gaza Strip. Liberman’s comments were a window into Israel’s updated national security doctrine. In his statements, the far-right minister revealed how Israel views the dynamics in the region—unstable, fragile, and volatile. The Israeli security establishment in Tel Aviv has long perceived the Lebanese Army as a deteriorating power with no real presence on the ground. Instead, Hizbullah and its Shiite counterparts in Syria are deemed the real sovereign over southern Lebanon. In the next war, therefore, Israel will have to fight on both Lebanese and Syrian soil. What’s more, Hamas is likely to join any confrontation ignited by Hizbullah by launching its own offensive along Israel’s southern border. This will require the Israeli army to defend two different fronts at the same time. Liberman and his associates understand this reality very well, and they are busy preparing for the next confrontation. The Israeli military has already started training its soldiers for this next round of fighting and will likely continue to do so with even greater intensity in coming months. It is hard to say whether Liberman’s assessment is right or wrong, but in a place like the Middle East such predictions often become self-fulfilling prophecies. Israel’s next round of fighting may very well be the bloodiest and most violent it has seen to date. – Ibrahim Farhat