Iranian Alliance Suffers Setbacks in Syria

The regime of Syrian president Bashar Assad and its Iranian and Hezbollah allies suffered several setbacks over the weekend, with the Islamic State (IS) terror militia and other rebel groups counter-attacking on several fronts. Additionally, several senior officers in the Iranian-led alliance of Shi’ite factions were reportedly killed as heavy casualties were reported on all sides.

Israeli Defense Minister Moshe “Bogie” Ya’alon is taking heat from many of his colleagues over his defense of senior IDF officers who have recently made controversial statements regarding the state of Israel’s socio-political scene. Ya’alon was summoned to “an urgent meeting” with Prime Minister Netanyahu Monday morning to discuss the situation. “The IDF is the army of the people and it must remain outside of politics,” said a statement from Netanyahu’s Office. However, Ya’alon’s encouragement to IDF officers to continue “speaking their mind” on political and social issues has been applauded by opposition lawmakers.

Israeli-Arab Members of Knesset participated in a “Nakba Day” ceremony at Tel Aviv University Sunday, mourning the anniversary on the Gregorian calendar of the day Israel became a state. Joint List head Ayman Odeh (Hadash) saying in a speech that, “The Nakba is our tragedy.” Similar “Nakba Day” events were held in Arab villages in the Galilee and Palestinian Authority administered cities in the West Bank, accompanied in several places by counter-demonstrations. “They’re mourning their failure to commit a genocide against their Jewish neighbors,” said a sign at one counter-demonstration.

Against the backdrop of threats by the Islamic State (IS) terror militia to attack Israel through it’s southern border, IDF Maj.-Gen. Yoav Mordechai told Saudi news site Elaph on Friday that an IS operative was recently smuggled into the Gaza Strip through a tunnel operated by the Palestinian Islamist terror militia Hamas. The account appeared to fortify scattered reports of increased cooperation between IS and Hamas.

Isaac Herzog, leader of the opposition in the Israeli Knesset and the Zionist Union party has come under increasing fire from within his own party over reports that he is close to inking an agreement with Prime Minister Netanyahu to bring his party into the government. Herzog has tried to reassure supporters that he will not join the coalition unless key planks the Left-wing platform are implemented, while other party officials have bemoaned the damage they believe the situation is doing to their long-term hopes for political success.

A century after the Sykes-Picot Agreement, the Middle East has become a political powder keg and the setting for successive armed conflicts. The challenge does not come from the Arab-Israeli conflict, which is but a minor aspect of the wider problem.