The Israeli offensive in Lebanon that began three weeks ago through explosive beepers and continued with the firing of missiles in Beirut, killing the leader of Hezbollah, must have set off alarms in Washington because the escalation of the war scenario would occur suddenly and with difficult return.
It is true, Hezbollah played with fire by firing rockets into Israeli territory since October 7 when Hamas terrorists invaded Israel to kill as many people as possible in front of them. However, the response planned and ordered by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu against Hezbollah during the last three weeks became a declaration of war and not a symmetrical strategic response like the one that occurred two months ago after the assassination in Iran of the Hamas leader Ismael Haniyeh.
At that time, Iran launched several missiles at strategic points in Israel and the Netanyahu Government’s response was symmetrical.
President Biden, since October 7, has been kicking the ball into the stands to kill time: there is just over a month until the US presidential election. It is clear that the Democrat has tried to avoid involving his country in a war in the Middle East because, by doing so, he would disrupt the domestic logic of the vote due to the presence of an exogenous agent established in public opinion in the United States, war.
Two factors have emboldened Prime Minister Netanyahu to open fire in Lebanon: his operation in the Gaza Strip did not represent political costs from Washington. The second element is his cabinet: a group of religious radicals and nationalists (ultra-right).
President Biden has reiterated for almost a year the need to negotiate a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas; After 41,000 deaths, his words have been surpassed by the serious humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip. Biden should have brought the issue to the Security Council. He did not do so, with the exception of one occasion, but through a tenuous resolution.
Israeli citizens’ support for Netanyahu has been growing since the beeper attack. The prime minister justifies his offensive in Lebanon because since October 7 he has set as his objective the return of Israelis who had to evacuate from their homes on the border with Lebanon.
The consequences of a confrontation between Iran and Israel could represent a point of no return. Far is 1979 when the Iranian revolution broke the rapprochements between Israel and Iran. Iran’s ayatollahs have had three objectives since that year: to eliminate Israel, expel the United States from the Middle East and end its leadership in the world order.
Furthermore, Netanyahu overlooks the eight million Jews outside Israel, vulnerable to hatred and terrorists.
@faustopretelin
