Israel faces existential threat of internal collapse before centenary, general says

A retired high-ranking Israeli military official has issued a warning that the regime may not survive to see its 100th anniversary in 2048, pointing to a catastrophic combination of deep-seated internal strife and a growing tide of international isolation.

Retired Major General Itzhak Brik, writing in a recent op-ed for the Hebrew daily Maariv, argued that the entity is currently on a "road to destruction" that can only be averted through radical leadership changes.

"When I try to look ahead, I find myself asking: will the State of Israel reach the age of 100?" Brik wrote.

Israel was established in 1948 on land seized by Zionist armed gangs that carried out massacres and displaced hundreds of thousands of Palestinians.

In 1967, Israel occupied the remainder of Palestinian territory and continues to reject withdrawal and the establishment of a Palestinian state.

Brik said Israel has, over the decades, become a society “torn from within,” marked by “deep hatred between social groups, between right and left, and between Jews and Arabs,” a rift he said permeates all aspects of life.

Referring to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Brik said Israel is led by a leadership that “prioritizes political survival over the public interest,” describing it as “myopic and directionless.”
 

Israel under Netanyahu’s regime on verge of collapse: Poll

58 percent of Israelis believe the regime is on the verge of economic, social, and political collapse, the so-called Israel Democracy Institute says.

On Israel’s global standing, Brik said the country has increasingly come to be viewed internationally as a state that “provokes revulsion and rejection,” adding that many Israelis are choosing to emigrate abroad.

Data released on Jan. 28 by Israel’s Central Bureau of Statistics showed a 39% increase in emigration from Israel in 2024 compared with the previous year.

Israel’s resilience is eroding across all sectors, including security, economy, education, health care, infrastructure, and science, Brik added.

He called for “empowering a younger generation to assume leadership and steer the country out of its current crisis.”

“The challenges we face, from restoring security in the north (with Lebanon and Syria) and in the south (with Gaza) to rebuilding the economy and international relations, require energy that exists only among those who still have decades of life ahead of them,” Brik wrote.

He said Israel could still surpass the 100-year mark “if younger generations succeed in transforming despair into responsibility and polarization into intellectual partnership.”

During nearly two years of Israel’s genocidal war in Gaza, Israeli officials repeatedly acknowledged that the regime faces serious political, security, economic, and media crises. Global public and official anger has also intensified over Israel’s actions across the region.

On October 8, 2023, Israel launched the war on Gaza, killing nearly 72,000 Palestinians and wounding over 171,000 others.

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