Israel has stepped out of the shadows of restraint and into the light of self-determination.
While there are numerous articles written about Israel each day, a seismic shift has gone largely unnoticed. For decades, Israel operated with restraint, containing its enemies rather than defeating them outright. The strategy was defensive, absorbing occasional attacks from terror groups in Gaza or Lebanon and responding with limited, proportional strikes designed to avoid global condemnation. That era is over.
It all changed on Sept. 17 and 18, 2024, when Israel blew up Hezbollah pagers in Lebanon and Syria, causing 42 deaths and as many as 4,000 injuries, including the loss of eyes and fingers. The outbreak of exploding walkie-talkies signalled a change in Israeli policy. The country was no longer playing softly as Washington and the West might like, but was now taking decisive action.
This is a different Israel. Instead of treading carefully and worrying about global opinion, Israel is asserting its strength. In Gaza, despite the daily headlines that a ceasefire is coming, Hamas is finished. One of the reasons a ceasefire is taking so long is that there is no longer a central Hamas command and control centre that knows where all the hostages are. Hostages are spread out over Gaza, in the hands of disparate warlords, terror groups and clans.
Hamas has been promising to provide lists of hostages still alive, and it cannot deliver. There may be one-off hostage releases, but understand that Israel is not leaving Gaza. It is paving roads and building bases, and despite daily condemnation from the world’s press, Israel will not give up its quest to eradicate every Hamas fighter and destroy every threat. Israel knows where many hostages are, but their captors feel safe knowing that they can kill the hostages quicker than they can be rescued. This confidence is a fool’s errand. My advice is to make the deals with the Israelis now. Either way, the captors are dead men walking — it is just about when and how.
In Lebanon, it is hard for most to comprehend what Israel has achieved. It has destroyed the arms supply line that ran from Iran, through Syria and into southern Lebanon. The Israel Defense Forces and their Lebanese sources are finding and destroying terror tunnels and arms depots every single day. Hezbollah is leaderless, with only small local groups remaining. Israel will not occupy Lebanon long-term, but it is not going anywhere until it believes all threats are eliminated.
The future in Syria is still hard to predict. But what we do know is that in the days after dictator Bashar Assad fled, Israel destroyed around 40 per cent of Syria’s air force, along with most of the country’s air defence systems; suspected chemical weapons sites have also been bombed. The search for more weaponry continues, as Israel seems to be able to operate at will in this failed state. Unlike others who are looking at rebel leader Ahmed al-Sharaa as a saviour, Israel knows he was a brutal al-Qaida leader and will proceed with caution.
Israel has also proven it can send its air force far away to attack threats in Yemen and Iran with impunity. The wild card in all of this is American president-elect Donald Trump, who, according to December reports, is considering airstrikes to prevent the advancement of Iran’s nuclear program. If so, expect a devastating attack by Israel on Iranian nuclear facilities and perhaps on its oilfields. Israel is no longer going to be waiting for the world to prevent Iran’s nuclear ambitions.
This is a new Israel. It is confident, audacious and once again not afraid to use its might to protect its citizens. Just like it did in its rescue of more than 100 Israeli and non-Israeli hostages in Entebbe, Uganda, in 1976, Israel is once again showing that it is the regional cop on the beat.
While Israel has no imperialistic plans for territorial conquest, it does have a desire for its own security and stability — and that is now taking priority.
Israel has stepped out of the shadows of restraint and into the light of self-determination. The message is clear: Israel will no longer ask for permission to defend itself. It will act decisively to ensure its survival and prosperity, reshaping the region and carving out its destiny on its own terms.
National Post
Rick Ekstein is a Toronto-based businessman who spent a large part of his business career travelling throughout most of the Arab world and today is an investor in Israeli cyber tech companies.