Israel uses distractions of many wars across West Asia to pursue more militaristic expansions in Lebanon and Palestine -- so all eyes are on how the US will respond

Key points:

1. Israel demands more vigorous US pressure on Lebanese govt to disarm Hezbollah, but the make-believe play diplomacy in Rome under US auspices only deepens global perceptions of Israel as an aggressor that sees itself as entitled to more and priority security than its Arab neighbors. The Lebanese-Israeli talks are going nowhere because they are structurally skewed to respond to Israeli demands, rather than to affirm the rights of both parties; and the world has learned in the last 30 years — since the Oslo agreements — that Israeli-American ‘peace-making’ focuses on Israeli needs being met before Arab parties try to get some of the crumbs.

2. As Israeli militarism persists across the region in Palestine, Syria, Iran and Lebanon, and wars expand to include other actors like Yemen, Saudi Arabia, Iraqis and Kurds, Israel’s standing in the world continues to regress. Lebanon and Gaza are the latest examples.

3. This is also not new, and has defined zionist-Israeli practices for the past century. The same playbook operates today as it has since 1917 — zionists/Israelis rely on western powers to provide the armaments and protection that allows them to keep building settlements, expel Arabs from their lands, and expand the lands controlled by Israel.

4. We’ve reached a point where the US response to Israeli excesses is now widely seen as the only way that Israeli runaway militarism can be reined in, warfare can tone down in the region, and genuine peace-making might come into play. The US has criticized Israel’s plan to remain in Lebanon and its rejection of the Gaza ceasefire plan implementation — but words alone do not deter Israeli extremism.