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Limits to escalation
But in the 11 months that have passed since the Hamas attack on Israel, no major war has broken out in the Middle East. Israel, as predicted, is stuck in Gaza for long. The death toll among Palestinian civilians has passed 40,000, with ... ... not become a second Gaza today, nor is it likely to become one overnight.
Along the line of confrontation between the IDF and Hezbollah forces on the Israeli–Lebanese border, nothing extraordinary has occurred so far either, except for a rocket strike ...
... example, during the Second Lebanon War, then-French President Nicolas Sarkozy brokered on behalf of the EU. So, the assistance of an extra-regional actor was instrumental in reaching a ceasefire agreement and resolving the crisis between Israel and Hezbollah.
Another case study is the work of the Middle East Quartet, which included the U.S., Russia, the UN and the EU. There are different opinions about its effectiveness, but it functioned nonetheless. Members of the Middle East Quartet were in contact with both the Israelis and the Palestinians....
... some Sunni jihadist rebels. Israel is willing to ally itself with Salafist rebels in order to prevent the “Iranian-Syrian-Hezbollah axis” from proclaiming victory in the Syrian Civil War. Whether this proves to be a wise decision for Israel, remains ... ... al-Assad; rather it sees him as the only alternative to an Islamic fundamentalist state. Russia’s main objective is that the Middle East remains stable while Syria was heading towards anything but stability. There are two reasons why Russia entered the ...
... Ukraine-style. Many observers predict these, or similar, scenarios for the Middle East, which is already permeated by chronic conflicts, border disputes and territories populated largely by religious, ethnic and other minorities.
Do you see any role in the Middle East settlement for Russia?
The Iranian issue remains of paramount importance for Israel, thousands or maybe even dozens of thousands of the latest missiles targeted by the Hezbollah against northern Israel from Lebanon, as well as the threat of shelling from the Gaza Strip.
Israel relies on Russia in its search for amenable solutions on Iran's nuclear program and the prevention of modern weapons supplies to the already ...
