Meanwhile on the International front....

My "Fuck anything the UN says re: Israel" heuristic isn't perfect (it wouldn't be a heuristic if it was), but it's pretty damn good.

 

Again, words mean something. Changing the definition like this is inappropriate no matter who is doing it.

Forced displacement and genocide are not the same thing. Using them interchangeably is misleading and dishonest.

 

Which may or may not actually be true. Politicians have been known to shade or deny unpleasant truths, Israeli politicians as much as any other. The actions taken over the next couple of years will tell the tale.

 

I wouldn't put it past a UN committee to tailor its definition of "genocide" to capture Israel under it anyway, given the 75 years of complete hypocrisy that body ghas demonstrated.

 

Israeli strike kills an elite Hezbollah commander in the latest escalation linked to the war in Gaza

Here's hoping that the Israel-Lebanon border does not erupt into an all out war.

 

The Israeli president Herzog is merely a figurehead, much like the president of Germany.

 

I agree. I remember the last war there and the Israelis had to back off because it was such a bloodbath. The Hezzies don't come to play. In fact I like the IDF better against Iran regulars.

 

Will they be fighting the Iranian regulars, tho?

 

Of course it's not happening unless either side wants to drive army divisions across three countries, round the Horn of Africa for an attack that everyone can see coming, or launch a massive airborne invasion.

More likely it would be Iran doing the attacking because they have friendly assets in Syria and Lebanon, but that's what proxies are for.

 

This is the third map in the bottom tweet.

 

Honestly there's not one square inch of Israel that isn't attackable by those who want to do harm, whether via Gaza, Lebanon or the West Bank.

Early indications were Iran was letting Hamas twist for being free birds fighting out of turn, but that was 3 months ago and maybe things have changed.