We do have to somewhat wonder how long Israel can survive as a country. When Israel in a neighborhood totally surrounded by Arab States that are mostly Muslim. Basically some 6 million Jews with a slightly shrinking population surrounded by 278 million Muslims that are rapidly increasing in population. Worse yet, in terms of natural resources, Many Arab States have massive oil wealth and Israel has only very recently discovered some off shore natural gas deposits that won't come on line for another five years or so. And even worse, much of what Israel tries to claim lies off shore countries other than Israel.
But from 1948 to basically the present, Israel has based their survival on military superiority. Maybe arguably necessary in 1948 when all surrounding Arab States attacked Israel crying Nimby as the Europeans foisted off their Jewish refugee crisis
off on the Arabs. As Israel got somewhat renewed support from the USA and Europeans
when the last vestiges of colonialism was a stronger force than the almost vanished force it is today. Which brought Israel the military support from the EU and the USA in those giddy days when Henry Kissinger declared oil is too important to be left to the Arabs. And Israel was thought of as a stabilizing force in the mid-east by the Europeans and the USA.
The problem is that Israel has become the greatest danger to mid-east stability today. And the change has come about for a variety of reasons. (1) The first major change came when the Europeans and the USA saw their puppet in Iran getting the old heave ho. As Iran, Saudi Arabia and Iraq could together supply meet the world's oil needs at the time. As all quick fixes to get Iran back under European and and US control have only resulted in making Iraq totally unstable. (2) The second major event was the end of the cold war, as the Russian economy first tanked and now is getting far more prosperous thanks to Russian oil discoveries that now make Russia an oil exporter. (3) The third major change has been the rapidly growing economies of China and India, and the rest of the world meaning their oil imports have skyrocketed. Meaning the US and the Europeans who were basically the sole importers of oil and could break OPEC cartels, have lost that ability. And if the Now EU and the US engage in a foreign policy hostile to the Arabs, Nations like Saudi Arabia can cut the EU and the US without a drop and sell to the Indians and the Chinese instead. (4) Perhaps the worst change for the Israelis, in only the past two years, has been losing the hard won support of Egypt, Jordan, and Turkey, not only losing all shreds of mid-east support in the region, but losing Israel the partner to enforce the other half of embargo's on the Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza. As the economy of Gaza has already greatly improved mainly due to the free flow of consumer goods and building materials like cement. But it also means that if Israel tries the rape of Gaza again, they will be greeted by more than rocks and bottles.
In short the former Israeli strategy of saying what ever is good for an Arab state is BAD for Israel cannot in future function.
And Current Israeli leadership is la la land, trying to prevent that idea that Israel can trade its engineering talents to help Arab States and itself build a new and better mid-east for itself and its neighbors. Inter regional pipelines for water and natural gas suddenly become possible, new highways and trade routes, but its going to come at the price of a just and lasting Palestinian State among other Israeli policy shifts.
IMHO, the only win win win method I can see for long term Israeli survival.
Otherwise, only terrorists will win, dooming Israel, greatly retarding surrounding Arab States, and perhaps causing a total depression for every modern Industrialized economy if and when Israel does something really stupid.
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