While Putin was hoping his visit to Kim Jun-Il and a timely defense pact with North Korea would create more of a fuss in the media, center stage has been consumed by Israel and Lebanon, on the brink of war, or so is the fear. For weeks, Israel and Hezbollah have been trading air strikes and rocket launches across the Israel-Lebanon border, with the situation escalating this week to the point that they are one concrete strike away from a declaration of all-out war.
Netanyahu disbanded his war cabinet on Monday, after his biggest rival, Benny Gantz, withdrew from the cabinet in protest over the handling of the war. Gantz was a moderate. Now Netanyahu has more control, and chances of a ceasefire are less realistic. Far-right members are also gunning for war with Lebanon. With a war cabinet full of hardliners, and those people facing the immediate threat from Hezbollah’s rockets in northern Israel are their supporters.