Israel’s actions toward Lebanon and Syria

Israel’s behavior toward Lebanon in recent weeks reveals a deliberate pattern: raise tension, threaten war, and create the political conditions for Lebanese concessions.

By striking towns in the south less than 24 hours after the first Mechanism Committee session, a session that, for the first time, included civilian Lebanese representative, Israel sent a clear message: Lebanese concessions will not stop Israeli escalation, they encourage further demands.

Israel’s repeated warnings of an “inevitable war” serve a psychological purpose.
A population that is tense, anxious, and bracing for conflict is more likely to pressure its government into making additional concessions.

But the broader Israeli goal goes deeper.
Israel believes that sustained tension will eventually push Lebanon into internal destabilization.
A civil conflict, or even the threat of one, would:

-Tie down the Resistance in domestic disputes

-Weaken Lebanon’s national institutions

-Create a vacuum in the south

-Allow Israel to impose new security realities while Lebanon is distracted

The ultimate calculation is ruthless: a Lebanon preoccupied with internal conflict cannot resist Israeli demands on borders, gas fields, or southern demilitarization.

Syria: The Assassination Threat Wrapped in a “Peace Offer”

Meanwhile, Israel’s approach to Syria has entered a new phase of open political signaling.
Days before Netanyahu’s comments, Israeli intelligence claimed it had information that groups inside Syria were preparing to assassinate Ahmad al-Shar’a, the self-proclaimed Syrian president.
The timing was strategic.

The next day, Netanyahu publicly stated that “peace” with Syria was possible, but only if Damascus accepted a vast demilitarized buffer zone stretching from southern Syria all the way to the outskirts of the capital.
This is not a diplomatic proposal.
It is a threat delivered through the language of negotiation.
The message to al-Shar’a is clear:
Accept an Israeli-designed buffer zone, or Israel will not ensure your survival.

Just as in Lebanon, Israel benefits from civil unrest inside Syria, where fragmented authority and internal conflict weaken the state’s ability to defend its territory or resources.

Submission is Not Peace

Ibrahim majed