MidnightWatcher – Prophecy in Motion

By Adrian Blomfield – “Since the tiny state was founded in 1948, Israel has always regarded itself as a vulnerable bastion of civilization in a hostile region bent on its destruction – ‘a villa in the jungle’, as Ehud Barak, the Israeli defence minister, has put it. But in recent years, Barak’s crude metaphor had seemed less apposite, even as Israel’s interminable conflict with the Palestinians ground on unresolved. Indeed, the jungle seemed to be pushed back in places and tamed in others.

Israel has been at peace with Egypt, its oldest Arab ally, since Jimmy Carter’s triumphant summit at Camp David paved the way for a treaty that has been in many ways the bedrock of the country’s security, guaranteeing peace on its remote southern border. Jordan eventually followed suit, signing a peace treaty of its own, while Turkey strengthened another vital alliance, giving Israel the support of a heavy-hitting Muslim power in the region.

The rest of the Arab world still seemed implacable, but one by one its dictators, despite the anger of their populations, found it pragmatic to reach an accommodation of sorts with Israel, tolerating the interloper in their midst even if not accepting it. Even Syria, which technically remains at war with Israel, found it preferable to keep the peace despite the continued Israeli occupation of the Golan Heights, captured during the Six Day War of 1967.

But, with alarming speed, all these gains now seem in jeopardy, leaving Israel terrified that the jungle is creeping back once more. This month has already proved one of the most nettlesome in Israel’s recent history – with worse to come before it is over, as the Palestinian leadership heads to the United Nations with a potentially explosive application for statehood.” Read more.