On midlevel figures and other absurdities – Amos Harel in Haaretz:

‘The two recent attacks attributed to Israel, one of which damaged the international airport in Damascus, did not pass without some diplomatic repercussions.
On Sunday, it turned out that Russia is drafting a UN Security Council resolution that includes a condemnation of the attacksand a warning that they could destabilize the region and undermine Syria’s sovereignty. This Russia’s second action in regard to the airport attack, coming on the heels of a reprimand delivered to Israel’s ambassador in Moscow last week.
According to a report by Gili Cohen on Kan TV, the chances of Russia garnering a majority for its resolution are slim. The United States and other permanent council members may oppose Russia’s move, which certainly breaks all records for hypocrisy as it destroys civilian infrastructure while killing thousands of civilians in a war it declared on Ukraine.’

(…)

‘Israel cannot completely ignore the Russian protest, both because of the presence of Russian warplanes in the northwestern part of Syria and because of the aggressive stance taken by Russia against the international community. It’s likely that the sharp Russian reaction is linked to Russia’s disappointment with Israel, which is trying to avoid taking sides or making clearcut declarations regarding the war in Ukraine.
Ironically, Israel is also being criticized by the U.S. for not toeing the Western line in explicitly condemning Russia’s aggression against Ukraine. Israel’s caution is so great that it dispatched only a mid-level figure from the Defense Ministry to the monthly meeting held by the Pentagon in Europe for coordinating the military aid given to Ukraine.’

(…)

‘The official Russian protest again raises questions regarding the level of risk and efficacy of Israel’s continued “war between wars.” The repeated attacks on the airport damaged runways, taking the airport out of commission for several weeks.
It appears that this was a public warning to Assad on the backdrop of repeated attempts by Iran to smuggle “high-precision kits” for upgrading Hezbollah’s arsenal of rockets in Lebanon. These were being delivered in hand luggage carried by travelers from Europe to Syria.
The “war between wars” has been going on for a decade, and it’s possible that its yield is not as high as it was in the past. Politicians and the defense establishment must ask themselves whether the repeated attacks are not being conducted out of inertia (attacking because we can), and whether a re-examination of this policy and its possible entanglements is required.
In another arena, Israel made do, as expected, with an airstrike in the Gaza Strip on Saturday morning, and is not intending on taking further action in response to the rocket fired at Ashkelon on Friday. The rocket was apparently fired by an Islamic Jihad activist in the Gaza Strip following the death of three armed Palestinians in an exchange of fire with an IDF Golani unit in Jenin a few hours earlier. The rocket was intercepted by an Iron Dome battery and did not cause any damage.
The measured Israeli response also included bombing workshops for producing arms and shelling Hamas observation posts along the border. These attacks caused no casualties. The observation posts play a dual role for the Hamas government in Gaza. Outwardly, they look into Israel and serve as some deterrence. Inwardly, they make it difficult for Palestinians to cross into Israel without a permit, either for carrying out attacks or for making a living.
These posts are useful for Israel as well. They serve as easy targets for token attacks, in which a price is ostensibly exacted from Hamas, even though the IDF usually confirms that the guards have evacuated the posts before it opens fire on them.’

Read the article here.

Attempts at staying neutral are mostly futile, but Syria proves that if a war drags on long enough agnosticism will kick in and this agnosticism van be understood as neutrality.

The unnamed ‘mid-level figure from the Defense Ministry’ sent to the monthly meeting organized by the Pentagon about Ukraine is telling.
The war will grind on for years, see under: Syria, and Israel decided that it doesn’t have a dog in this fight.

Probably Europe, despite its promise to make Ukraine a EU-member, will come to the same conclusion after a year or two.

I’m in favor of Ukraine becoming an EU-member, but it will have unintended consequences. Bulgarian corruption is peanuts compared with Ukraine. And yes, I hope that Ukraine will force Putin to retreat or to declare victory based on fantasies and other delusions. But the enemy of your enemy is rarely a saint, even though propaganda would like to have it that way.

See also under: Afghanistan 1980-1989.