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24, June 2024

Vice President Yerima’s statement on the burning of taxis in Ambazonia ⁰

The recent incidents of taxis being burned on our streets are deeply troubling. Taxis represent not just a mode of transportation but a vital source of livelihood for many in our communities in Ambazonia. These acts of destruction do not advance the cause of liberation or justice; instead, they harm the very people we seek to uplift and support. The very people we are fighting to liberate from black-on-black colonialism, invasion, looting of our natural resources, rape, torture and crimes against humanity committed by Paul Biya, his government and the military of French Cameroun.

As stakeholders in the revolution, we must desist from, and be accountable to attitudes and actions that ignite and cause more harm and add grave pains to our already suffering masses on the ground. The unfortunate and insipid attitudes and actions towards our own taxi drivers have resulted in the burning of taxis and other forms of destructions, with negative ramifications on the core ideals that inspired us to rise up as a people and defend ourselves against an oppressive and repugnant French Cameroun regime.

Our fight for the liberation of our country must be rooted in principles of dignity, respect, and unity. Violence and the destruction of property belonging to those whom we claim are our own, only serve to divide us and undermine our collective efforts. The burning of taxis is a direct attack on the hardworking individuals who rely on these vehicles to support their families and contribute to our economy.

We condemn these heinous acts in the strongest possible terms. We are committed to ensuring the safety and security of all Ambazonians, and we will not tolerate any form of violence or intimidation against our own people. These criminal gangs seek to create fear and chaos, but we stand united in our resolve to fight back and redirect our focus of the revolution against the principal enemy, French Cameroun.

We call on all members of our communities on ground zero to channel their frustrations and energies into constructive actions that build, rather than destroy. Let us engage in peaceful dialogue amongst us, especially those on the ground that are affected the most; organized advocacy, and community-driven initiatives that reflect our shared values and aspirations for a better future for us and generations to come.

Our path to liberation requires resilience, solidarity, and a commitment to non-violence against our already suffering and impoverished masses. Let us stand together, protect our sources of livelihood, and work towards meaningful change that benefits all our people. We stand with our people on ground Zero and we will continue to work hard to defend our interests and aspirations of a free and prosperous homeland. God bless Ambazonia.

Dabney Yerima

Vice President

Federal Republic of Ambazonia

23, June 2024

Malian singer Rokia Traore detained in Italy over child custody case ⁰

Malian singer Rokia Traore has been arrested in Italy over an outstanding two-year prison sentence in Belgium handed down in a child custody dispute, prosectors in Brussels said Sunday.

The singer and guitarist was sentenced in absentia in October on charges of parental abduction, after fleeing France in 2020 when she was due to be handed over to Belgian authorities.

Italian media reported that the award-winning musician was arrested at Fiumicino airport in Rome on Friday after she flew into the country for a concert.

A spokesperson for the airport told AFP that border police had confirmed her arrest. There was no official confirmation from the Italian authorities.

Prosecutors in Brussels told AFP that “Ms Traore’s arrest in Italy follows a decision by the Brussels Criminal Court on October 18, 2023, which sentenced her in absentia to two years imprisonment for failing to hand over a child to the person entitled to custody”.

Traore had been arrested in Paris in March 2020 on a European arrest warrant over a Belgian court ruling ordering her to return her daughter, now aged nine, to the child’s Belgian father.

She later defied a ban on leaving France and flew home to Mali several months later, before she could be sent to Belgium.

A lawyer for the child’s father said he had not had any contact with his daughter, who lives in Mali, since she turned four.

The lawyer said the father had offered to draw up a new custody agreement with Traore, validated by Malian and Belgian courts, to “find a way out of this nightmare and guarantee their child a future with two parents”.

Beyond her feted music career, Traore is also known for her advocacy work for refugees, and was made a UN ambassador for refugees in 2015.

Source: AFP

23, June 2024

Russia: Deadly attacks on Dagestan synagogue and churches ⁰

Gunmen in Russia’s North Caucasus republic of Dagestan have killed six police officers in a series of attacks, security officials say.

Twelve other officers were wounded in the attacks, which targeted a synagogue and churches in the cities of Derbent and Makhachkala.

A Russian Orthodox priest has also been killed and two attackers shot dead, state media report, quoting the local Interior Ministry. Footage on social media shows buildings on fire.

The assailants have not been identified, but Dagestan has in the past been the scene of Islamist attacks.

An unofficial channel on the Telegram messaging app, Mash, said gunmen were barricaded in a building in Derbent.

Source: BBC

21, June 2024

Malawi: Top comedian sworn in as vice-president ⁰

Top comedian-turned-politician Micheal Usi has been sworn as Malawi’s vice-president at a ceremony held in parliament in the capital, Lilongwe.

The 55-year-old replaces Saulos Chilima, who died in a plane crash earlier this month, along with eight other people.

Dr Usi received a standing ovation when he spoke after his inauguration, saying he accepted the role with a mixture of sadness and gratitude.

He promised to honour his predecessor’s memory and thanked President Lazarus Chakwera for believing in him as he takes up his position as vice-president in the power-sharing government.

His appointment has certainly left Malawians divided.

Some have been sharing clips of his acting career on social media and questioning whether he is serious enough to take up such a senior role.

Others however have praised President Chakwera for appointing Chilima’s party deputy and honouring the spirit of the alliance between their two parties.

Dr Usi is no stranger to controversy given his acting career. He is popularly known as “Manganya”, the name of a mischievous character he still plays in popular TV sitcom Tikuferanji.

His aide told the BBC on Friday that he was filming an episode as recently as last week.

He has been a staple on national radio and television for more than two decades making him one of the most recognisable local celebrities.

Dr Usi has also been a passionate advocate for developing and promoting Malawi’s film industry in which it is difficult to make a living.

In fact, he first funded his acting career by working as a hospital clinician. He has a qualification in clinical medicine – most patients in Malawi will be seen by a clinician as the country has a shortage of doctors.

This fuelled his passion to improve the lot of poor communities and for many years he worked at Adventist Development and Relief Agency (Adra), a Christian non-governmental organisation.

He served there in various capacities, including heading the organisation as its country director – and through him Adra funded various soaps on radio and TV that also aimed to educate people about HIV and other social issues.

The new vice-president, who is married with two daughters, also holds a PhD in youth development from the University of Bedfordshire in the UK.

Despite his position at Adra, his acting career never took a backseat – and he was participating in various productions, mostly in the local Chichewa language.

Such was his popularity as a comedian that when he founded a political movement around seven years ago – many people just thought it was a prank.

This is because he had a reputation as a trickster – his most famous ruse was fooling people into believing that he had been a good boxer at high school and was looking to return to the ring.

He organised a non-title bout against a leading local boxer. A huge crowd turned up for what they thought was a real boxing match, only to discover it was a scene in one of his television plays.

However, it turned out his political ambitions were real. His movement was called Odya zake alibe Mulandu, which loosely translates as “he who does not take what belongs to others but only eats what’s his is a free man”.

It soon became part of a newly formed political party, the UTM, headed by Dr Chilima.

This was ahead of the 2019 elections – and Dr Usi and Dr Chilima started addressing rallies together.

Both being highly eloquent speakers, their meetings often drew huge crowds and in February 2019, Chilima named his new political associate as his running mate for the vote.

The pair came third, but the results were then nullified by the high court because of irregularities.

In fresh elections that were held in 2020, the UTM joined eight other opposition political parties to form an electoral alliance, which picked Dr Chakwera as presidential candidate with Dr Chilima as the running mate, which went on to victory.

Dr Usi, was by this stage Chilima’s deputy and was named in cabinet as minister of tourism, culture and wildlife, a position he held between July 2020 and February 2023.

He later moved to become the minister of natural resources and climate change, his role until his elevation to vice-president.

Some senior members of the UTM were notable by their absence at his inauguration on Friday – signalling division in the party over his appointment.

Dr Usi did not evade the issue at his swearing-in, promising to get the party together so that they could heal and honour the legacy of Chilima, who was regarded as a magnetic politician with a special connection with people, especially the youth.

Source: BBC

21, June 2024

Armenia officially recognizes Palestinian state ⁰

Armenia has announced its recognition of the State of Palestine, becoming the latest country to take the measure during the ruthless Israeli ground and aerial invasion of Gaza.

“Reaffirming its commitment to international law, the principles of equality, sovereignty and peaceful coexistence of peoples, the Republic of Armenia recognizes the State of Palestine,” the Armenian Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Friday.

It deplored the catastrophic humanitarian situation in Gaza and the ongoing military invasion as one of the primary issues on the international political agenda that requires resolution.

“The Republic of Armenia categorically rejects the [Israeli] targeting of civilian infrastructures, and violence against the civilian population,” the ministry noted.

It added that Armenia earlier supported the UN General Assembly resolutions calling for an immediate ceasefire in the Gaza Strip. The statement said Yerevan is “genuinely interested in establishing long-term peace and stability” in West Asia.

Ireland, Norway and Spain have formally recognized Palestinian state, irrespective of strong opposition from Israeli authorities to the move.

The ministry emphasized that Armenia has always advocated a peaceful and comprehensive settlement of the Palestinian question on various international platforms.

Responding to Yerevan’s move, the Israeli regime’s foreign ministry summoned the Armenian envoy.

In recent weeks, Slovenia and Malta have indicated they plan to formally recognize the state of Palestine.

Last month, Spain, Ireland and Norway formally recognized the Palestinian state, joining over 140 UN member states that have recognized its statehood over the past four decades.

Source: Presstv

21, June 2024

Biya is aging disgracefully ⁰

Aging gracefully is not about trying to look like a 16 or a 20-something — it’s about living your best life and having the physical and mental health to enjoy it.

But when you are over ninety years and you have been in power for forty-two years and there is nothing to show for such a long stay in office. When your incompetence is legendary and when you have used intimidation and trickery to keep your people in utter silence. At 92, it is evidently clear that you are aging disgracefully. This is the story of Paul Biya, the Cameroonian dictator.

Cameroon’s per capita income is dwindling at catastrophic rapidity and President Biya’s personal clock is ticking away at lightning speed, yet no one in Yaoundé is speaking of an adequate plan for a peaceful transition of power.

Paul Biya is already 92, he is still the President of the Republic and his acolytes are pushing for him to continue beyond 2025. Biya’s seniority makes King Charles of Great Britain and the UN secretary-general António Guterres look middle-aged at 75.

Many in Yaoundé are now questioning Biya’s sanity and quips about him being compos mentis are intensifying deep within his ruling party the Cameroon Peoples Democratic Movement (CPDM).

In his 42 years as president of the republic, Biya has been undeniably, over the hill and far away from the Cameroonian people.

Take a look at his record: Cameroon’s economy is on life support. Almost every sector has been hit hard by the corruption which has become the government’s hallmark.

Unemployment has hit its apex, leaving many young Cameroonians desperate. Many have found solace in alcohol and drugs.

The country is bereft of all forms of infrastructure. Thousands of Cameroonians die each year on what passes off as roads.

The country’s lone air career, CAMER-Co, has only one airliner and most of its staffs are hardly sure of the next paycheck.

Camrail, the railway network which once brought goods and people to nearly every town and city, is today a shadow of its former self.

The architects of Cameroon Airlines’ demise, who are still in power, displayed the same mindset and destroyed Camship-Cameroon Shipping Company, Cameroon Bank, BIAO Meridian Bank and FONADER Bank.

The price of beer and other bottled concoctions are determined by decrees issued by Mr. Biya whose cardinal objective even at 92 is to die in power.

The country’s police and military have been tribalized. Once ordered to operate in other regions of the country, the military goes crazy, killing and maiming anything with flesh and blood. Most senior officials of the country’s military are from the president’s region, making it hard for any coup d’état to be planned.

There is an inherent fear in electing young leaders in the ruling CPDM party at a time and age when leaders in this critical sphere of human life should be in a position to represent the interests of the major cohort of their citizenry.

On state radio and television, Biya loyalists have repeatedly said life begins at 70 for CPDM politicians. The one million dollar question is with more than half of Cameroon’s population under the age of 30, how can they possibly relate to this massive proportion of their citizenry?

Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair said: “Politics is weird because it’s the only business where you give a really important position to someone with no qualifications.”

If it were not for politics, what would Biya and his gang turn to for an income in a Cameroon devoid of economic opportunities? What useful skills do Biya and his Beti-Bulu gang possess? What are they actually qualified to do, outside of politics? The answer is simple-nothing.

The fact that young Cameroonians girls have been reduced to prostitutes by hunger and poverty under his watchful eyes, we of the Concord Group have come to the conclusion that Biya is aging disgracefully.

By staff lady Besong Eunice Nchong

20, June 2024

Euro 2024: “German team is truly exceptional. Just imagine if there were only white players” ⁰

A senior German politician has apologised for the way she worded a comment about the skin colour of members of the country’s football team, in which she praised them and asked what it would be like if there were only white players.

Green MP Katrin Göring-Eckardt, who is also the deputy leader of the German federal parliament, appeared to be referring to a recent survey that found 21% of respondents would prefer to see more white people in Germany’s squad.

“This team is truly exceptional. Just imagine if there were only white German players,” she wrote after Germany beat Hungary 2-0 in the Euro 2024 tournament. She also added three rainbow emojis.

But after criticism on social media, including from fellow MPs, Ms Göring-Eckardt deleted the post and apologised for the way it was phrased.

She later took to X, formerly Twitter, again to explain herself.

“It upset me that 21% of Germans would prefer it if there were more “whites” in the national team,” Ms Göring-Eckardt wrote.

“I’m proud of this team and hope that we can convince the 21% too.”

Ms Göring-Eckardt’s original post was quickly criticised, with some accusing her of racism despite the fact she was praising the team’s diversity.

“I find it really worrying when people in Germany are judged by the colour of their skin,” said Wolfgang Kubicki, the deputy leader of the Free Democratic Party (FDP), which is part of Germany’s coalition government alongside the Greens.

Manuel Ostermann from the centre-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU) party also commented.

“Are you judging people based on their appearance? According to your own definition, that would be racist,” he said.

The survey Ms Göring-Eckardt was responding to was commissioned by Sport Inside, which airs on German public broadcaster WDR.

It was part of a documentary on racial diversity within the national team and how it is viewed by the public.

Player Joshua Kimmich described the survey as “racist” when it was first reported earlier this month, while coach Julian Nagelsmann said it was “insane”.

“We play a Euro for everyone in the country and whoever plays top football is invited to be a national team member,” Mr Nagelsmann said.

“I hope I never have to read such crap polls again.”

Source: BBC

20, June 2024

President Putin in Vietnam, vows deeper ties in visit criticised by US ⁰

The leaders of Vietnam and Russia have said they want to boost ties as the pair met in the Vietnamese capital of Hanoi.

Vietnamese President To Lam was full of praise for his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, congratulating him on his recent re-election.

Mr Putin, in return, said strengthening a strategic partnership with the south-east Asian country was one of Russia’s priorities.

His trip to Vietnam, which comes on the heels of his lavish visit to North Korea, is being interpreted as a demonstration of the diplomatic support Russia still enjoys in the region.

“Congratulations to our comrade for receiving overwhelming support during the recent presidential election, underlining the confidence of the Russian people,” President Lam said after Mr Putin was given a red carpet welcome.

The United States has criticised the visit for giving a platform for President Putin to promote his war of aggression in Ukraine.

Vietnam still values the historic ties it has with Russia even as it works to improve its relationship with Europe and the US.

Looming over a small park in Ba Dinh, Hanoi’s political quarter, a five-meter high statue of Lenin depicts the Russian revolutionary in heroic pose. On his birthday every year a delegation of senior Vietnamese officials solemnly lay flowers and bow their heads before the statue, a gift from Russia when it was still the Soviet Union.

Vietnam’s ties to Russia are close and go back many decades, to the vital military, economic and diplomatic support given by the Soviet Union to the new communist state in North Vietnam in the 1950s.

Vietnam has described their relationship as “filled with loyalty and gratitude”. After Vietnam invaded Cambodia in 1978 to throw out the murderous Khmer Rouge regime, it was isolated and sanctioned by China and the West, and depended heavily on Soviet assistance. Many older Vietnamese, including the powerful communist party secretary-general Nguyen Phu Trong, studied in Russia and learned the language.

Today Vietnam’s economy has been transformed by its integration into global markets. Russia has fallen far behind China, Asia, the US and Europe as a trading partner. But Vietnam still uses mainly Russian-made military equipment, and relies on partnerships with Russian oil companies for oil exploration in the South China Sea.

The invasion of Ukraine presented Vietnam with a diplomatic challenge, but one it has so far managed to meet. It has chosen to abstain on the various resolutions at the United Nations condemning Russia’s actions, yet maintained good relations with Ukraine and even sent some aid to Kyiv. They also share a legacy from the Soviet era; thousands of Vietnamese have worked and studied in Ukraine.

This is all in keeping with Vietnam’s long-held foreign policy principles of being friends with everyone but avoiding all formal alliances – what the communist party leadership now calls ‘bamboo diplomacy’, bending with the buffeting winds of great power rivalry without being forced to take sides.

It is why Vietnam has so readily upgraded its relations with the US, a country against which its older leaders fought a long and destructive war, in the interests of seeking lucrative markets for Vietnamese exports and balancing its close ties with its giant neighbour China.

The US has objected to President Putin’s official visit to Vietnam on the grounds that it undermines international efforts to isolate him, but it can hardly be surprised. Aside from the special historical links with Russia, public sentiment in Vietnam on the war in Ukraine is more ambivalent than in Europe.

There is some admiration for Putin as a strongman who defies the West, and scepticism, fuelled partly by social media commentary, of the US and European claims to be upholding international law.

This is also true in other Asian countries, where the Ukraine war is seen as a faraway crisis. In Thailand, for example, a historic military ally of the US which was on the opposite side to Russia during the Cold War, public opinion is just as divided as in Vietnam. Thais too value the even older links between its monarchy and the pre-revolutionary Tsars of Russia, and the Thai government maintains close ties with Russia today, valuing the contribution millions of Russians make to its tourist industry.

How long Vietnam maintains its camaraderie with Vladimir Putin is less clear. It is already seeking alternative sources of military equipment, but ending its current dependence on Russia will take years.

A series of high-level resignations inside the communist party recently suggest intense internal rivalries over the next generation of leaders, and, potentially, over which direction the country will take. But there is no talk yet of abandoning the ambition of being friends to all, and enemies of none.

Source: BBC

20, June 2024

Thousands of young Kenyans protest tax hikes ⁰

Thousands of mostly young demonstrators took to the streets across Kenya on Thursday to protest tax hikes, blowing whistles and chanting slogans in a vivid show of anger by Gen-Z protesters against the government.

Police in the capital Nairobi fired tear gas and water cannon against groups of protesters near parliament, but apart from isolated scuffles earlier in the day, the action — dubbed “Occupy Parliament” — remained mostly peaceful.

Led largely by young Kenyans, the demonstrations began in Nairobi on Tuesday before spreading nationwide on Thursday.

They have galvanised widespread discontent over President William Ruto’s economic policies in a country already grappling with a cost-of-living crisis.

Hours after Tuesday’s demonstrations, which saw hundreds of youth face off against the police, the cash-strapped government agreed to make concessions, rolling back several of the tax hikes laid out in a new bill.

But the government still intends to go ahead with some tax increases and has defended the proposed levies as necessary for filling its coffers and cutting reliance on external borrowing.

On Thursday, protests were held across Kenya, with thousands assembling across Nairobi, the Indian Ocean city of Mombasa, the Rift Valley city of Nakuru and the opposition bastion of Kisumu, according to AFP reporters and images broadcast on TV.

Isolated scuffles broke out in Nairobi between protesters and police, who used tear gas and water cannon at demonstrators gathering near the parliament, which began debating the bill on Wednesday.

Despite a heavy police presence and roadblocks erected along several roads leading to parliament, hundreds of protesters gathered in groups, blowing whistles and vuvuzelas, waving placards and chanting: “Ruto must go”.

Ivy, a 26-year-old job seeker dressed in a T-shirt and leggings, told AFP she was prompted to protest for the first time on Thursday because she was “scared” for her future.

“This bill cannot pass. This bill is going to finish us. We don’t have jobs… we can’t even open businesses, we can’t do anything in this country,” she said.

Another first-time protester, Bella, said she had showed up “to make sure the finance bill is rejected.”

The 22-year-old university graduate told AFP she was “not impressed” with the government’s concessions earlier this week.

‘Lying to us’

The presidency on Tuesday announced the removal of proposed levies on bread purchases, car ownership as well as financial and mobile services, prompting a warning from the treasury of a 200-billion-shilling shortfall as a result of the budget cuts.

The government has now targeted an increase in fuel prices and export taxes to fill the void left by the changes, a move critics say will make life more expensive in a country already battling high inflation.

“They are just trying to lie to us, the taxes that they have removed on bread they have added somewhere else,” Bella said, describing it as a tactic to “blindfold” citizens.

A parliament source told AFP that a vote on the proposals was expected on June 27, three days before the deadline for passing the bill.

The taxes were projected to raise 346.7 billion shillings ($2.7 billion), equivalent to 1.9 percent of GDP, and reduce the budget deficit from 5.7 percent to 3.3 percent of GDP.

High inflation

The protest in Nairobi on Tuesday saw black-clad protesters forced into cat-and-mouse chases with police who fired volleys of teargas.

At least 335 people were arrested, according to a consortium of lobby groups including the human rights commission, KNCHR, and Amnesty Kenya.

“We have changed tack. Today we will be in colourful and defiant clothing to avoid a repeat of them arresting everyone in black,” said an organiser of the march, who requested anonymity due to fear of reprisals.

Overall inflation has remained stubbornly high, at an annual rate of 5.1 percent in May, while food and fuel inflation stood at 6.2 percent and 7.8 percent respectively, according to central bank data.

Source: AFP

20, June 2024

Israeli army in urgent need of troops amid rising casualties in Gaza ⁰

The head of the Israel Defence Forces said the army is facing troop shortages amid rising casualties in the war against Hamas in Gaza. Yet enlisting more troops is difficult due to rising public opposition to the war and an open conflict between Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and his defence minister.

The Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) is facing increasing challenges as the war against Hamas enters its ninth month. On Monday, Israel lost eight soldiers in an explosion in Rafah, in what Israeli media called the “deadliest incident for IDF” in six months. The number might seem small in the context of the war in Gaza, but the number is far too high for Israeli public opinion.

A week before the explosion, Hamas claimed to have killed an unspecified number of Israeli soldiers after its fighters detonated a booby-trapped house in Rafah.

‘An exhausted army’

The losses underscored Israel’s army chief Herzi Halevi’s warning in recent days about shortages in the military, saying it would prevent Israel from waging the war against Hamas with the same intensity.

Amid a shortage of troops, the army is also facing an unstable political landscape. The relationship between the army and Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu has deteriorated significantly, with Netanyahu reportedly criticising plans announced by the military to hold daily tactical pauses in fighting to facilitate the delivery of aid to the Palestinian enclave.

The Israeli army is also facing domestic pressure from a population shocked by the Palestinian death toll caused by the Israeli offensive in Gaza. Skirmishes erupted on Monday night between police and anti-government protesters who took to the streets of Jerusalem, before marching to Netanyahu’s private home in the city, to show their discontent over the handling of the war with Hamas in Gaza.

“The IDF is totally exhausted after more than eight months of war,” said Ahron Bregman, a political scientist and specialist in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict at King’s College London. “The IDF command, and the defence minister too, are desperate for a break to regroup.”

The Israeli army does not officially comment on the state of fatigue of its troops, but the signs are clear. “We are seeing examples of sooner-than-expected rotation of brigades and battalions,” said Steven Wagner, historian and lecturer in international security at Brunel University London. In other words, the soldiers need more frequent breaks.

Many experts say the October 7 attack on Israeli soil and the intensity of the response decided by Netanyahu’s government, which requires a long-term commitment, surprised an army that was “too small” for the task. Israeli military strategists thought that the era of major regional wars – such as the Six-Day War in 1967 or the Yom Kippur War in 1973 – was over, said Bregman. As a result, “the army disbanded six divisions over the last 20 years. Today it is missing approximately two entire divisions, or 10,000 additional soldiers”.

Finding more soldiers

The situation is complicated by increased fighting between Hezbollah and Israeli forces on Israel’s northern border with Lebanon, reported the US public radio NPR. An extension of the war in the north “would be catastrophic for both Lebanon and Israel”, said Bregman.

“In terms of soldiers, tanks and quality of equipment everything is fine on paper for a short war. But in terms of a long war with Hezbollah, no, Israel isn’t ready, and it’s mainly about morale,” said Omri Brinner, a Middle East analyst at the International Team for the Study of Security Verona (ITSS).

Despite this, the Israeli military on Tuesday said that “operational plans for an offensive in Lebanon were approved and validated”. By Wednesday, the military said its warplanes had struck Hezbollah sites in southern Lebanon overnight.

Under the circumstances, the priority of Israel’s defence ministry – as well as the army chief – is to increase troop numbers. “The easiest solution would be to mobilise the ultra-Orthodox, but this would be politically delicate for Netanyahu,” said Brinner.

The contribution to the army would be significant. In 2023, over 60,000 young men from the ultra-Orthodox community received an exemption from military service.

Scrapping this privilege authorised by Israeli law would infuriate the ultra-religious and far-right parties, which currently constitute the main source of support for Netanyahu’s government.

The government is therefore looking for other solutions for the manpower shortage. It is preparing to adopt a new bill delaying retirement for IDF reservists. The proposal would raise the exemption age for reserve military service from 40 to 41 for soldiers and from 45 to 46 for officers.

“It’s clearly a way to deal with the fatigue issue,” said Wagner. But using older reservists in high-risk areas would “bring the quality of the army down”, he warned.

Netanyahu vs Gallant

Even if the army found the resources to sufficiently increase its numbers, “strategic command problems at the highest level” will still exist, said Brinner.

Netanyahu’s dissolution of the war cabinet earlier this week has plunged the army into strategic limbo.

“Netanyahu is under intense pressure from his allies on the right,” said Brinner, noting that the Israeli leader’s reliance on the ultra-religious parties has reduced his ability to maneuver around the thorny issue of enlisting ultra-Orthodox members in the armed services.

The Israeli prime minister could theoretically rely on his defence minister, Yoav Gallant, but “the situation is unprecedented, with the two men cordially hating each other and ready to jump at each other’s throats at the slightest opportunity”, said Wagner.

At a time of serious challenges, the Israeli army needs troops as well as clear direction from above. While the army can hold out for a few more months, experts say the stated goals of destroying Hamas and freeing all the hostages are unattainable under the current circumstances.

Source: France 24