As Israel continues its genocide in Palestine, expands its murderous rampage into Lebanon… the West cheers & arms them, Arab governments sleep, the UN looks the other way… and the world is dragged passively toward WWIII Craig Mokhiber, Human Rights Attorney
On Monday, Israeli armored divisions and combat troops gathered on Israel’s northern border while Israeli artillery units pounded targets across southern Lebanon. Early reports filed on Twitter indicate that Israeli reconnaissance units have already crossed the border into Lebanon clearing the way for an upcoming ground offensive. According to Reuters, the Lebanese Army has already fled its forward positions in the south leaving Hezbollah with the daunting task of stopping the Israeli advance. A clash between the rival armies could happen as soon as tonight.
The Biden administration has reportedly deployed a significant number of fighter jets—including squadrons of F-15E, F-16, A-10, and F-22’s—to assist Israel in its attempt to overpower Hezbollah and cut a path to the Litani River. Biden has also sent thousands of additional troops to the region to “bolster security and…. defend Israel if necessary.”
The administration has dropped any pretense that the United Sates is not directly involved in a conflict that will inevitably engulf the entire region leading to America’s expulsion from the Middle East. The president’s decision to provide “unconditional” support for Israel’s apartheid regime has put the US on a suicidal trajectory that will undermine America’s global interests while accelerating the emergence of multipolar world order. This is from former UN human rights attorney Craig Mokhiber:
The West has created a Frankenstein monster, which, drunk with impunity, is rampaging across the Middle East leaving mangled bodies and rivers of blood everywhere in its wake. Rather than reining in the beast, they are funding, arming and insulating it from any accountability by international legal institutions & the Security Council. How many more innocents must die? Will they drag the whole world into war? The task of stopping the monster and its sponsors now falls on all of us. Craig Mokhiber, Twitter
A number of recent tactical victories—including the assassination of Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah and many of his senior-level Commanders—has emboldened Israel to engage Hezbollah directly on its native soil. And while the venture involves considerable risks for the invader, Netanyahu and his lieutenants believe that Hezbollah’s command and communications have been so severely degraded that there may be an opportunity to deliver a deathblow to their longtime enemy.
Throughout Monday, Israel pounded targets in southern Beirut with the same bunker busting bombs that were used to kill Nasrallah. These behemoths generate a massive blast similar to a small nuclear weapon leveling an entire city block in one blow. Naturally, the airstrikes have spread panic across the capital sending more than a million residents fleeing to the north. There have been numerous reports that Israeli bombers have attacked the long lines of vehicles leaving the city similar to what took place in Gaza just months ago.
Not surprisingly, the combination of Nasrallah’s assassination and the opening of a new front in the war, have sent Netanyahu’s personal approval ratings skyrocketing. Here’s an excerpt from a recent survey:
A poll published on Friday showed that the ongoing Israeli offensive on Lebanon, which has killed hundreds this week, has significantly boosted the popularity of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party, increasing its projected number of seats in the parliament…The survey, conducted by Israeli daily Maariv, highlighted that “on the backdrop of a series of harsh blows dealt to Hezbollah and the escalating fighting in the north, Likud has strengthened this week.” Israeli offensive on Lebanon boosts Netanyahu’s Likud party popularity: Poll, Middle East
What are we to make of this survey? Should we assume that Israelis admire strong, resolute leaders that are willing to do whatever it takes to defend Israel’s national security or is this “boost in popularity” merely the sign of a paranoid, bloodthirsty people driven by hatred and revenge?
It’s also worth noting, that Israel’s operational strategy does not align with the Fourth Geneva Convention, the Hague Convention or International Humanitarian Law. In fact, Israel’s way of waging war ignores all the rules governing humane behavior dating back centuries. All of this is by design; it’s all a subset of the prevailing military theory called the Dahiya doctrine. Take a look:
Israel’s military strategy since 2008, known as the Dahiya doctrine... Lieutenant General Gadi Eizenkot, former commander of the Israel Defense Forces’ northern front, was the first to mention the Dahiya doctrine following the civilian casualties in Lebanon during the 2006 Israel–Hezbollah war. In a 2008 announcement after the destructive conflict, Eizenkot asserted, “What happened in the Dahiya quarter of Beirut in 2006 will happen in every village from which Israel is fired on… We will apply disproportionate force on it and cause great damage and destruction there. From our standpoint, these are not civilian villages, they are military bases… This is not a recommendation. This is a plan. And it has been approved” (Ynetnews).Israel national security expert Gabriel Siboni explained in 2008 that the Dahiya doctrine aims to deter future attacks by inflicting damage extensive enough to prolong reconstruction and require significant financial investment. Similarly, former Israel National Security Advisor Yaakov Amidror stated in 2008 that, “Israel’s retaliation will be intentionally disproportionate….”
…. the Dahiya doctrine indicates that the Israel Defense Forces’ military response s hould target not only its enemy’s military capacities, but the infrastructure and economy that supports its opponent. This aspect of the Dahiya doctrine is framed as a future deterrence through depleting enemy resources.
The 2009 United Nations Fact Finding Mission on the Gaza Conflict acknowledged the Dahiya doctrine as an Israeli armed forces strategy that involves mass destruction of civilian populations and infrastructure. Credible observers from The Guardian and Washington Post argue that the current onslaught devastating Gaza is a continuation of the doctrine (The Guardian; Washington Post). Israel’s Dahiya doctrine intentionally violates International Humanitarian Law, Global Health Justice
In short, we can expect Israel to implement the same ‘strategy of annihilation’ in Lebanon that they used in Gaza. The IDF will target food and water sources, power plants, oil storage tanks, gas pipelines and all the other vital infrastructure that are needed to sustain human life. They will turn the southern parts of the country into a wasteland consistent with the Dahiya doctrine. One pundit promised to ‘bomb Lebanon back to the Stone Age’ which appears to be a fairly accurate summary of the overall strategy. This is from a post by political analyst Arnaud Bertrand:
The principles Israel breaks were established for centuries such as the illegality of bombing embassies, or the killing of medical staff….. People don’t realize just how consequential this is: what’s at stake is quite simply everything. If we let the future of the international order be based on the murder of Palestinians, and now the Lebanese, we’re paving the way for the most unprincipled and nihilistic order we’ve ever known, where virtually anything goes. …Israel is literally destroying everything civilization is based upon: sovereignty, the rule of law, human rights, freedom, etc. If you care about any of these things… the Palestinian cause should be THE priority cause for you… https://twitter.com/CraigMokhiber/status/1840791228448702691“> Arnaud Bertrand
Well said, for what it’s worth.
NOTE—AFP, quoting a State Department official, confirms that Israeli ground operations inside Lebanon are now underway.
