IS ISRAEL BITING OFF MORE THAN IT CAN CHEW?

As we all know the 1948 War of Independence or al-Nakba (Arabic for Catastrophe) as it is known to Palestinians left the State of Israel well-acquainted with armed conflict. Since the war of 1948, Israel has been involved in no less than six further armed conflicts with its Arab neighbours. In 1956 there was the Suez Crisis, brought about by Egyptian President Nasser's nationalisation of the Suez Canal. Eleven years later in the war of 1967, or what is also known as the Six-Day War the Israelis wrestled control of the West Bank and East Jerusalem from Transjordan, the Golan Heights from Syria and occupied Egypt's Sinai Peninsula and the Gaza Strip. Only six years later in 1973 Egypt, Syria, Jordan and Iraq  launched a surprise attack on Israel during the Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur. With unrest brewing in neighbouring Lebanon and the eventual outbreak of civil war, Israel invaded Southern Lebanon in 1982 and only withdrew in the year 2000. Following two major Palestinian uprisings know as the first and second Intifada in 1987 and 2000, the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) fought a bloody 33-day war against the Lebanese Shi'ite Faction Hizballah (Party of God) in 2006. Finally with ironic coincidence, Israel launched Operation "Cast Lead" against the Hamas controlled Gaza Strip in December 2008, the year of Israel's 60th Anniversary.

                          IDF Tanks entering the Gaza Strip during Operation "Cast Lead" in 2008

Now just two years after Israel's latest military endeavour, tensions in the region are once again at an all time high. An ever-more defiant President Ahmadinejad in Iran is ousting his neo-conservative rivals and   looking to demonstrate Iranian strength and military might. In a recent release of classified documents by whistleblower Wikileaks it was stated by Gabi Ashkenazi, the IDF's Chief of Staff that Israel would have a twelve minute warning before an impending missile strike by Iran. It is due to this and frequent demonstrations of Iran's military might that Ashkenazi is preparing the IDF for the possibility of a large-scale war. In recent weeks Israel has mobilised tanks with integrated anti-rocket missile-defence systems along its border to the Gaza Strip. Airstrikes on what IDF Command claim to be military targets are occurring on an almost daily basis in the densely populated strip of land. To the north, Lebanon is bracing itself for the result of the UN inquiry into the 2005 assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. Statements issued by the General-Secretary of Hizballah Hassan Nasrallah clearly demonstrate that the Shi'ite faction and its Iranian backers will accept no implication of its members in the assassination. With arms-sales in Lebanon rumoured to have been on the rise for the past five months, another bout of sectarian violence seems tragically realistic. Technically still at war with Syria to the north-east, and with no Peace Agreement between itself and Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah in sight, Israel seems to be in more of a tight spot than ever before. With a  hardline right-wing coalition currently governing Israel, and a reluctance on behalf of all parties involved to engage with one another diplomatically, bloodshed and loss of life once more seem inevitable.