With US power declining in the Middle East region and Israel’s critical situation in Gaza war, it seems Washington intends to revive ISIS to kill two birds with one stone and save both Israel and itself.
After nearly five months since the start of the war between Israel and Hamas on October 7, the Israeli army is now in a critical situation. Although Israel has had numerous battles with Arab countries and Hezbollah and has won many of these battles, none lasted more than a few weeks. This is while the Israeli army has been fighting with Hamas, Hezbollah and the Yemeni Houthis for nearly half a year now, and reports indicate that the situation of the Israeli army is deteriorating, especially in terms of manpower supply.
According to the Hebrew media, the Israeli army has requested the addition of at least 7,000 soldiers to its forces due to the severe manpower crisis amid the Gaza war. “The Israeli army announced in a statement on March 1, 2024 that it needs more than 7,000 more soldiers in addition to the soldiers who have already signed up to join Israel’s multi-front war,” the report stated.
Meanwhile, Israel’s Ministry of Treasury has approved the authorization of only 2,500 soldiers to join the army. The Hebrew news site Ynet, citing the General Staff of the Israeli army, also reported that these unprecedented numbers show the shock that has been inflicted on the Israeli army after almost 150 days of conflict with heavy casualties.
On the same day, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Galant called for an end to military exemptions for members of the ultra-Orthodox community, saying that “all sectors of society must shoulder the burden of this war.” The effects of this long war on Israel’s economy have also been very significant.
Instability in the region, the only way to turn th tables!
In a critical chaos that both Israel and the US are now grappling with, it seems that Washington is trying to revive ISIS as a proxy force of Israel in Syria and then in Iraq in order to contain the ability of these countries to fight against Israel by involving Iran and the resistance axis countries with fighting the terrorist group.
Likewise, the re-emergence of ISIS for US would mean the return of insecurity in the region and an excuse for Washington to re-establish its position in the region, and this scenario, if realized, can turn the already chaotic region into a hot hell.
The bad news is that it seems the US has taken its first steps in this dangerous path. This Saturday, the US appointed Salem Turki al-Antari, a former senior member of ISIS as the new commander of the Free Syrian Army, a US-backed militia group in Syria. Between 2015 and 2017, al-Antari participated in the capture of Palmyra by ISIS and the subsequent battles with the Syrian army. In the ISIS attack on Palmyra, members of the terrorist group killed and injured hundreds of Syrians, and also destroyed some of Syria’s most valuable cultural heritage.
