The tensions between Israel and Palestine over the past year have continually been heating up as disputes between borders have reached pinnacle marks –such as the controversy with the United Nations. Nevertheless, in recent months, with Syria and their constant threat of the use of dangerous chemical weapons, pressure in the Middle-East has been paramount. Although Syria –which is itself engaged in a civil war between the Assad regime and those loyal to his government vs. the Free Syrian Army and other confederate rebel groups –is a threat in and of itself, Bashar Al Assad has recently given the Palestinians the go ahead offering them his support given rising escalation.
Monday evening, two IDF mortar shells exploded in Israel in the Golan Heights area causing anxiety and much reaction out of the Israeli government. Although the two explosions have been written off as friendly fire spillover from the conflict in Syria, many others object to such a notion. Moreover, the Friday and Saturday previously, Israel sent air strikes over key target locations in order to try to diminish political pressure over Lebanon. Although the Israeli government has been pointed about staying out of Syrian air-space, the Syrian government has stated that it may increase the situation near Damascus, the capital of Syria.
Furthermore, notwithstanding all the aforesaid events, President Assad openly gave the Palestinians and the PLO (Palestinian Liberation Organization) a fair card to retaliate against Israel if new increasing circumstances arise. This is a dangerously bold move by Syria which is already internally imploding. Moreover, such an attack could trigger a chain of events given the fact that new alliances have been formed, and old ones reinstated, concerning North Korea and China. Notwithstanding Russia’s alliance with Syria, a full fledged Palestinian attack against Israel could draw in the United States as well.
For instance, the Kuwaiti newspaper entitled the Al Rai, quoting sources near to President Bashar Al Assad, stated that “[the] Syrian leader had used Russian backchannels to tell the Israelis that Damascus would react if Israel struck Syria again. [The] Syrian leader had used Russian backchannels to tell the Israelis that Damascus would react if Israel struck Syria again.” Such statements intensify the rising escalation of the Israel/Palestinian situation concerning Syria –and even Russia.
Other sources have claimed that since the event, Syrian authorities have deployed missile batteries in Damascus aimed at Israel. Any future Israeli provocation could result in a serious reaction from Damascus and quickly ignite the powder keg that is lying so dormant in the Middle-East currently. Israeli ground troops, moreover, were caught operating in the Golan Heights area as well. Regardless of the future events, it can be stated with certainty that tensions in the Middle-East are high as everyone is expected every other country to cooperate with each others demands. Such a scenario brings back the M.A.D. of the Cold War and instills a sense of looming fear and ominous anxiety throughout citizens in Israel, Syria, and Palestine. One can only hope that such a situation, perchance, can be averted in the near future.
The Carnage Report // http://thecarnagereport.blogspot.com // 2013
Brent McCulley on Twitter // http://twitter.com/brentthewalrus