Professor Efraim Inbar
JISS, Aug. 4, 2024
“Attrition warfare is the best outcome for the population-centric Iranian strategy and the worst possible scenario for Israel.”
Governments in many capitals of the world have repeatedly expressed apprehensions about escalation of the Gaza conflict and Hezbollah’s war of attrition against Israel. They fear greater violence, more casualties and an expansion in the number of regional participants in the war. United States President Joe Biden sent aircraft carriers to the region signaling his desire to prevent escalation and repeated on several occasions his famous warning, “Don’t” – with limited success.
Such fears, warnings and the many calls for restraint are understandable, particularly for Western audiences, but they are not very useful. First, these pronouncements express genuine reluctance to use force and are seen by most people in the Middle East as weakness – a trait despised in these parts. In contrast to Western attitudes that view the use of force as uncivilized and anachronistic, Middle Easterners see it as a legitimate option in the toolbox of international actors.
Moreover, it is popular. Hamas gained huge popularity among Palestinians for its October 7 attack on Israel. Israelis cherish successfully targeted killings, and these are also well appreciated by its Arab allies.… [To read the full article, click here]