Understanding Hezbollah's Escalation with Amatzia Baram

Description

Heightened provocations by Hezbollah on Israel’s northern border result from two developments. The organization has become more vulnerable within Lebanon and so needs an external diversion. Plus, it expects the Netanyahu government to respond in only limited ways. Is Hezbollah right? What are the implications of the tensions? How might Israel respond?

Amatzia Baram is professor emeritus at the University of Haifa. He has taught at the universities of Jerusalem, Haifa, Tel Aviv and Georgetown (Washington, DC). He is the author of Saddam Husayn and Islam, 1968-2003 (Johns Hopkins, 2014). Baram completed his BA, MA and PhD in the department of Islamic and Middle Eastern studies at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.