Showdown with Iran by Mark Hitchcock

Author:Mark Hitchcock
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Thomas Nelson
Published: 2020-02-25T16:00:00+00:00

Strife in the South

Iran also controls Israel’s foe to the south, Palestinian Islamic Jihad in Gaza. They, too, stand ready and eager to do Iran’s bidding. As they await their orders for an all-out attack, they act as constant agitator, firing rockets into southern Israel to inflict as much damage as possible.

The growing crisis shows no signs of slowing. Iran is embedding itself in Syria. Hezbollah is entrenching and hardening in Lebanon. Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) is thriving in Gaza. Israel is working to prevent or at least impede these ongoing threats. That’s the current showdown in a nutshell. Israel will keep striking Iranian assets in Syria to deliver temporary setbacks and continue its cat-and-mouse game with Hezbollah. Israel will continue to hold PIJ at bay. But eventually Iran and Hezbollah won’t take it anymore, and ultimately Israel will reach a point where more force is required. Those scenarios can come about separately or simultaneously. In either case, war will break out, possibly engulfing the region.

“What are the implications for Israel?” asks Haaretz’s Amos Harel. Yaakov Amidror, Netanyahu’s former national security adviser, responds: “High probability of more Iranian aggression and even broader conflict with Israel if, in the latter half of 2020, Iran ramps up uranium enrichment. Israel must be ready to tackle Iran on its own.” Amidror’s forecast for northern Israel is no rosier. Harel reports: “Israel must be ready for escalation, including preemptive warfare with Hezbollah.”7

Everyone yearns for a diplomatic solution to the showdown. A quote attributed to Winston Churchill is that “jaw-jaw is better than war-war.” Everyone agrees that talking is generally better than fighting. But how can Israel “jaw-jaw” with an enemy that constantly chants “death to Israel,” calls it a “cancerous tumor,” and yearns for the day the Jewish state is eradicated? Iran regularly threatens to “wipe Israel off the map” and says that “Israel will disappear.” It is working to strengthen its grip on Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Yemen, and the Gaza Strip. Iran has deployed missiles in Yemen that could reach Israel. Iran’s tentacles now span the entire Middle East. Most importantly, and most dangerously, Iran is now poised and perched on Israel’s border in Syria.

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