Israel’s War Obsession and the Urgency of Palestinian Leverage

It is tempting to argue that Israel’s new military doctrine is predicated on perpetual war—but the reality is more complex. Not that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu would object to such an arrangement. On the contrary, his relentless drive for military escalation suggests precisely that. After all, his openly declared quest for a “greater Israel” would require exactly this kind of permanent militarism—endless expansion and sustained regional destruction. However, Israel cannot sustain an open-ended fight on multiple fronts indefinitely. Israeli officials boast about fighting on “seven fronts,” but many of these are, in military terms, largely imaginary rather than sustained battlefields. The real wars, however, are entirely of Israel’s making: from the genocide in Gaza to its unprovoked regional wars. […]