Israeli aircraft carried out strikes on Iranian military posts in Syria early Wednesday morning in response to a barrage of rockets fired at Israel by Iranian-backed militia forces near Damascus Tuesday morning. When Assad-regime air defense units fired at the Israeli aircraft, they were also targeted. Israeli Defense Minister Naftali Bennett declared that “the rules have changed: Anyone who shoots at the State of Israel during the day will not sleep at night. Like last week and now this week.  Our message to Iran’s leaders is simple: You are no longer immune. Wherever you stretch your tentacles-we will hack them off. The IDF will continue to protect Israeli citizens “

Midnight Wednesday is the deadline for Blue and White leader Benny Gantz to form a governing coalition, but as of Wednesday afternoon the prospects of such an event coming about looked dim. Shortly after noon on Wednesday, Yisrael Beytenu leader Avigdor Liberman appeared to end the final hope of a unity government being formed before the midnight deadline by telling reporters that he would not cooperate with Blue and White plans to form a minority government with the support of the Joint (Arab) List party and he also wouldn’t join with the Right-wing bloc led by Likud to form a government with a slight majority. He added that both major parties were equally to blame for the imbroglio, but he still had hope that a third election could be avoided.

A Pentagon study released this week said that the arsenal of missiles possessed by Iran’s military is larger than that of any of its Middle Eastern neighbors. “Lacking a modern air force, Iran has embraced ballistic missiles as a long-range strike capability to dissuade its adversaries in the region — particularly the United States, Israel, and Saudi Arabia — from attacking Iran,” the report said. Defense Intelligence Agency director Lieutenant General Robert Ashley said: “Iran sees itself as closer than ever to achieving its goals. Tehran has played the cards dealt it by the fall of Saddam [Hussein in Iraq], the uprising in Syria, the rise and retreat of ISIS, and the conflict in Yemen.”

Lebanon’s titular parliament appeared to be hopelessly checkmated Wednesday by protesters who have twice this week physically prevented them from entering the capital building to hold sessions. Protesters chanting “revolution, revolution,” continued to occupy the streets around the building Wednesday morning, as rumors circulated that security forces had refused orders to violently disperse them. In Iraq, protests have been more frequently violent, with protesters expressing deep skepticism at statements by lawmakers that reforms are imminent.

President Trump’s ill-advised decision to withdraw from Syria should be viewed in the context of two broader developments. In terms of foreign policy, both the Republicans and the Democrats are moving from international engagement to neo-isolationism; and strategically, the Pentagon is shifting from the war on terror to a renewed focus on Russia and China.

Over the last four years, ever since Russia entered in force the Syrian conflict, Moscow reaffirmed its preeminent position in Damascus and the war-torn country at large. As other powers withdrew from regional affairs, Russia has seemingly achieved a generations old aspiration of having a major impact on the Middle East. A panel of experts weighs in.

Come read reports from the ICEJ Feast of Tabernacles 2019, from the spectacular opening night at the Ein Gedi Spa to the deeply moving day of prayer at the Tower of David in Jerusalem’s Old City.