Turkey, in cooperation with Russia, attempted to establish a strategic outpost in the northwest of the Golan Heights, a short distance from Lebanon
The IDF foiled the establishment of the outpost with fire; a shortage of manpower does not allow for the deployment of a force appropriate to the threat that is intensifying in the north
The military reality in the Golan Heights, which stems on the Israeli side from an acute shortage of manpower and from the lack of fundamental state lessons learned, is leading to the abandonment of the north of the State of Israel, similar to October 7, and perhaps even worse, since Israel has been fighting battles of attrition for two years. Due to an acute shortage of manpower, the IDF is not deploying a regular force of an appropriate size in the Golan Heights, in the face of the Turkish attempt to prepare against Israel through outposts, Hezbollah forces, and military organizations of the Muslim Brotherhood. Instead of regular forces that will spend months familiarizing themselves with the area, its characteristics, and the characteristics of the opposing forces, Israel is deploying reserve forces for a military operation that will last about a month; The rapid turnover does not allow the force to establish itself in the face of the growing threat; despite the current reality on the Golan Heights, the Israeli government is promoting a new evasion law, which will prevent the establishment of a proper defense of the north of the State of Israel (see today's expansion in the main story section). Through cooperation with Russia in establishing the outpost at the junction of the borders of Lebanon, Syria and Israel, Turkey, in our assessment, tried to convey a double message. One, to Israel, according to which Erdogan's prayer to Allah to destroy Israel has a practical military expression (and all that follows from this, for example, Israel becoming a Turkish protégé with American support). The second message is to the Western countries, according to which a withdrawal from Western support for Turkey in its moves in the Middle East, including the withdrawal of Western countries from NATO's support for Turkey, could be expressed by Turkey in the Middle East, for example by preventing a strategic rear, despite the Western desire for a Turkish rear in the Middle East. In addition, Russia's involvement in the establishment of the outpost on the Golan Heights is a Turkish hint to the West that its response to the withdrawal of support for it could also be in the Bosphorus Strait, which would prevent Western access to the Russian rear and the defense of the European Union countries, if the crisis with Russia develops into World War III (Russia also, in our assessment, conveyed messages to the West by its participation in the establishment of the outpost opposite Israel, the main of which is: pressure on the West to close a deal with Russia at the expense of Ukraine). The establishment of the outpost and the military provocation in Israel is a blatant and profound violation of the NATO Charter, which prohibits the organization's members from inciting war. Israel has not responded to the Turkish military threat, as well as the political threat, with proactive measures. In our assessment, the lack of Israeli response (which is so essential) stems from the deep social, legal, political, and military crisis that the fanatical government has plunged the State of Israel into since January 2023, and which affects all government systems, including the defense and foreign ministries and systems.
By Mati Cohen
The Turkish Russian move was exposed at its inception, and the IDF recently thwarted it before it became established in a way that would have made it difficult to eliminate it on the military level; the IDF's rapid action mainly saved the immediate need to deal with the new Turkish/Syrian/Hezbollah outpost on the political level. However, the move to establish the outpost and eliminate it emphasized two fundamental facts in the defense of the State of Israel: 1. The severe shortage of manpower, which does not allow for the placement of an appropriate force on the Golan Heights in the face of the increasingly escalating threat. (See today's main story for an expansion on the duty of the defense establishment to remove its gloves in dealing with those who refuse to enlist). 2. The lack of state investigations and lessons learned, in a state investigation committee that will be appointed by the President of the Supreme Court; Such investigations could have guided Israel's actions in the face of the Turkish/Syrian/Lebanese threat, and in the face of the new axis of destruction that Turkey is establishing in collaboration with Iran and Egypt, with the support of European countries and the US; a thorough and in-depth investigation could even refine Israel's actions on the political level, for example in response to the Turkish attempt to involve Israel in the inter-bloc tension (as a pretext for inter-bloc deterioration) by including Russia during the establishment of the Turkish outpost on the Golan Heights.