Russia and northern battlefield of Israel: new sides of the asymmetric conflict

Abstract

The authors consider the military operation «Northern shield» conducted by the Israel Defense Forces on the Northern front of the state against Hezbollah militants in the context of Benjamin Netanyahu's implementation of the security policy of the State of Israel, as well as interaction between Russia and Israel through the prism of the actual balance of forces in the Middle East. First of all, the importance of this military operation in the process of destruction of Hezbollah tunnels created to block settlements in the Galilee, as well as in the context of increasing the resistance of the Israeli rear to rocket attacks by militants of the organization, was assessed. The IDF has demonstrated high combat readiness in the context of countering Hezbollah, as well as preparing for the designated military operation, which greatly undermines the chances of radicals to influence the balance of forces in the region. Nevertheless, the authors suggest that the Israeli forces are limited in a number of resources, so Israel needs help from the most influential actors of the modern international arena, including Russia. As for the Israeli authorities, they are extremely interested in Russia's support in the implementation of the security policy, therefore the Israeli direction is the most significant for the Russian Federation in the implementation of its Middle East course. Ultimately, the authors come to the conclusion about cooperation between Israel and Russia in two key areas – at the level of the foreign ministries of both countries and the ministries of defense, and in both cases the priority is the fight against the terrorist threat on Israeli territory.