Worldcrunch
Israel’s far-right security minister is multiplying his provocations to change the status quo of the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound. Saudi Arabia denounced the move, and ultra-Orthodox Jews have distanced themselves. But the holy city may explode sooner rather than later.
Since Oct. 7, the Israel-Hamas conflict has continued to spread, deepening divisions within Israeli society and radicalizing a section of public opinion. Radicals both in Israel and Hamas are taking advantage of the chaos of war to prevent peace — just as they did in the 1990s. For how long will the world allow them to do so?
Israel’s recent strike on central Iran was a warning shot for Tehran, tempered by a desire to close the recent spate of tit-for-tat attacks and by pressure from the U.S. Yet this may have only ended round one of the Iran-Israeli showdown.
Israel no longer has any interest in prolonging the destruction — and spreading the condemnation around the world for its “collective punishment” of the people of Gaza.
By sanctioning violent settlers in the West Bank, U.S. President Biden aims to reassure voters unhappy with his support for Israel, and to push Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu to accept a ceasefire agreement.
Former Mossad chief Tamir Pardo joins a handful of former military and political leaders who have decided to break the taboo on using this infamous word, as a result of the political radicalization of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s governing coalition.
French writer and political scientist Dominique Moïsi was in Israel last week for the country’s latest elections, which saw the victory of a hard right coalition led by Benjamin Netanyahu. He warns that there is an inherent conflict between the self-declared “start-up nation” and the anti-science, anti-liberal program of the new government.