(Al Ahram-Egypt) Tarek Osman - Israel has become a major military power with a formidable reputation in the world of intelligence, and a large number of countries in the Middle East and beyond seek its expertise and buy its products. It has succeeded to upgrade its cooperation with important world powers with influence in the region, including Russia and China. These new relationships have not lessened Israel's special relationship with the U.S. Israel remains America's most trusted and closest ally in the region. Israel is also benefitting from the gradual disengagement of the U.S. from the Middle East, where Israel has emerged as an attractive partner for regional powers in need of new security arrangements, especially in the Gulf. Iran's successes have brought it to the Eastern Mediterranean armed with a conviction that it has established a balance of deterrence with Israel through force of arms and particularly through the arsenal of the Lebanese Shia group Hizbullah. Iran has succeeded in establishing a semi-circle around Israel, with Hizbullah in the north, Syria in the east, and the Palestinian group Hamas in the south. This means that in any serious military confrontation with Iran, Israel must take into consideration the possibility of engaging in three different theaters of war at the same time. The writer is political counsellor for the Arab World at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD).
2022-02-24 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive