ISRAEL SPARKS WIDENING WEST ASIA CONFLAGRATION

GURBIR SINGH HE Middle-East is on the brink of war.

- GURBIR SINGH

Following the April 1 attack on an Iranian consulate building in Damascus, Syria by Israeli jets, and the killing of several Iranian military and diplomatic personal, Iran has threatened to wreck vengeance on Israeli and US facilities in the region. Predictably, the US and Israel have said they will respond in equal measure.

There is nervousness in Washington, Moscow and Beijing. The stage is set for an all out shooting war beyond the borders of Gaza, a war that may not be restricted to the region.

Unquestionably, this latest round of widening hostilities can be blamed squarely on the trigger-happy, right-wing Israeli government. Israel's Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, close to popular ouster at home, is doing his best to widen the war beyond Gaza to divert attention. The US, despite all of Joe Biden's soothing words, continues to arm and support Israel even as the country slowly degenerates into a rogue state on the world stage.

Israel started it

What was the need to attack an Iranian consular building in Damascus? It is a flagrant violation of international law on two counts. A consular enclave is Iranian soil by extension. Beyond that, Israel seems to have no qualms about entering Syrian airspace and territory at will to carry out assassinations of whoever they designate a 'terrorist'. Israel started it. It attacked both Iran and Syria first.