1) At the Modern War Institute, John Spencer explains ‘Israel’s New Approach to Tunnels: A Paradigm Shift in Underground Warfare’.
“Before the war against Hamas in Gaza, the Israel Defense Forces were one of the most prepared militaries in the world for underground warfare. The IDF were the only army to have a full brigade-sized unit dedicated to training, manning, equipping, researching, developing new technologies and tactics, learning, and adapting solely for underground warfare. Still, the challenges they faced early in their campaign in Gaza, many of which they struggled initially to overcome, speaks to the incredible complexity of subterranean warfare. Their responses to these challenges signal a paradigm shift in modern approaches to underground warfare.”
2) The ITIC looks at ‘The Israel-Lebanon Ceasefire Agreement: The Lebanese Point of View’.
“In our assessment, Hezbollah will continue to promote and reiterate its victory narrative and adopt a policy of brinkmanship. Its operatives will attempt to challenge the implementation of the ceasefire until the planned withdrawal of IDF forces from south Lebanon by the end of January 2025. Even after the withdrawal, the Lebanese army will most likely be unable to enforce the ceasefire, prevent Hezbollah operatives from reaching south Lebanon or fully oversee the dismantling of Hezbollah’s infrastructure south of the Litani River, due to Hezbollah’s efforts to integrate its activities into the local population and the army’s desire to avoid direct confrontation with Hezbollah.”
3) Analysts at the INSS discuss ‘The Rebel Offensive in Syria’.
“On November 27, several rebel organizations belonging to the military operations command of al-Fateh al-Mubin in the Idlib region of northwestern Syria launched a broad offensive against the Syrian regime. The Hayat Tahrir al-Sham organization, the former branch of al-Qaeda in Syria, is spearheading the offensive. The Syrian National Army, which is backed by Turkey, has also joined the rebels. According to statements issued by the rebels, the goal of the operations was to thwart the Syrian regime and the Russian forces assisting it from launching attacks, which had intensified in recent months; they also seek to reimplement the ceasefire that was announced in March 2020 as part of an agreement between Turkey and Russia.”
4) MEMRI explains the factions behind the events in Syria.
“Syria’s Sunni Muslim Arab Islamist rebel groups are not one thing. They are survivors, the product of 13 years of brutal war, infighting, and revolution, a hodgepodge of factions, absorbed, reshaped, purged, and rehabilitated over time. Almost all of them are various shades of Islamist or Salafi-Jihadist. Some are no better than bandits or mercenary guns for hire. All of them are connected or influenced, to a greater or lesser extent, to the Islamist Erdoğan regime in Turkey.”
5) At the Moshe Dayan Center, Jonathan Franco examines the ideology of Ansar Allah (the Houthis) and how it mobilizes its ideology to justify its intervention in the Israel-Gaza War.
“Ansar Allah justifies its alliance with Iran’s Axis of Resistance by leaning on the common denominator of Islam, primarily within the context of the holy war against Israel. The Houthis describe Palestine as one of the most important Islamic territories; it is geographically central to the Arab world, and religiously significant as it served as the cradle of many of God’s messages and prophets. Houthi propaganda warns of an unholy alliance between Israel, the United States, and those Arab states that chose Arab-Israeli normalization – and of course between all these powers and the “deceitful Jews” who seek to distort Islam and terrorize its believers. Much like Yemen itself, Palestine is presented as a frontline in the war between Islam and anti-Islam, with the Houthis and the Axis of Resistance protecting the faith. Ansar Allah stresses that the only acceptable solution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict is the liberation of the land and the elimination of Israel.”
6) At the JCFA, Maurice Hirsch discusses ‘Abbas’s Decision to Appoint Rawhi Fattouh as His Successor’.
“The decision of 89-year-old Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas to issue a “constitutional declaration” appointing Rawhi Fattouh, the Chairman of the Palestinian National Council (PNC), to “temporarily serve as PA President pending the holding of presidential elections,” signifies, in essence, the final nail in the coffin of the Palestinian Authority. While intentionally worded misleadingly, the so-called “constitutional declaration” is the latest in a series of decisions made by Abbas over the last six years, all intended to replace the PA bodies with those of the Palestine Liberation Organization, over which Abbas and his Fatah party have complete dominance.”
