Plans for Saudi-Israel normalization are on the backburner, as the conversation shifts to where new war fronts might open, writes Brian Katulis.
About the author: Brian Katulis is a senior fellow and vice president of policy at the Middle East Institute.
The main battleground: southern Israel-Gaza. For the moment and likely for the next few days or weeks, the centerpiece of this struggle will remain within a defined geographic location along Israel’s southern border and in the Gaza Strip, a densely populated area controlled by Hamas since 2007 with 2.3 million Palestinians.
Risks of new fronts opening in the Middle East. The most immediate worry is on Israel’s northern front, where the terrorist group Hezbollah has fired some salvos against Israel as they have in the past. The group is well-armed by Iran and battle-trained in Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad’s decade-plus war against his people.
There are also long-standing concerns about Jordan next door, which has an economy strained by multiple challenges and a significant portion of its population with family ties to Palestinians in the West Bank, Jerusalem, and Gaza. Worries linger of turmoil inside Israel between Arab and Jewish citizens, just a few years after clashes in particular communities shocked the country.
The key long-term questions are: Who will win the peace? How will it be won? And who will share in its benefits?
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