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The politics of war: what is Israel’s endgame in Lebanon and Syria?
Shocking outbursts almost endorsing the Beirut explosion have betrayed continuing belligerence by many Israeli politicians. But without any real territorial ambitions, its main aim is to remain a regional player — by war alone, writes RAMZY BAROUD
Demonstrators wear masks of Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu outside his residence in Jerusalem, August 8.

ON AUGUST 4, hours before a massive explosion rocked the Lebanese capital, Beirut, Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, issued an ominous warning to Lebanon.

 

“We hit a cell and now we hit the dispatchers. I suggest to all of them, including Hezbollah, to consider this,” Netanyahu said during an official tour of a military facility in central Israel.

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