The escalation along the Gaza border this week has had Israelis fretting over whether this would turn into yet another prolonged rocket war with their Palestinian adversaries. After the drawn-out rocket wars against Hezbollah in Lebanon in 2006, and against Hamas in Gaza in 2008-2009, 2011 and 2014, the Israeli people are understandably on edge about how long they will need to hold out until calm is restored. It can take several broken ceasefires before quiet really returns. Meanwhile, Israeli leaders know there is public pressure to finally deal with the source of this rocket threat inside Gaza, but that it also would come with a great price and that any solution is also hampered by the current political impasse in Israel.

The unprecedented convergence of strategic threats now taking shape under Iran’s inspiration and guidance requires the IDF to adopt a new operational approach without delay (including a reorganization and a suitable buildup) and the Israeli public to prepare for the emergency situations attending these new emergent threats.

The European Court of Justice issued a controversial ruling on November 12, 2019, and declared: Foodstuffs originating in the territories occupied by the State of Israel must bear the indication of their territory of origin, accompanied, where those foodstuffs come from an Israeli settlement within that territory, by the indication of that provenance. Any reaction to the EU policy of labeling products manufactured in Israeli settlements should consider the following points…