"Will Netanyahu and Lieberman's political escalation translate to military escalation?"

LATimes' Babylon & Beyond/ here

"... As-Safir and Al Akhbar, two Lebanese newspapers considered sympathetic to Hezbollah, ran editorials Friday questioning Israel's motives and military preparedness.

Samir Karam, writing in As-Safir (in Arabic), criticized Israeli military strategy for failing to evolve with the conflict, citing a report by the Jewish Institute for National Security Affairs on Israel's qualitative military edge.

"[The study's authors] want to make a fuss about ending the doctrine of qualitative military edge, while emphasizing that Israel still has this qualitative edge, despite developments that would destroy [this advantage]," Karam wrote. "What can Israel do to restore this qualitative edge, which [was damaged by] the resistance, not armies?"

In Al Akhbar (in Arabic), Saadallah Mazraani accused Israeli politicians of using political and military provocation to shift focus from reaching a two-state solution.

"Will Netanyahu and Lieberman's political escalation translate to military escalation?" he asked, and if so, will it be in Gaza, Lebanon, Iran or Syria?

"But there is a risk: despite the natural tendency of Israeli leaders toward war and aggression, despite the presence of an extremist group in a position of unprecedented power in Israel, despite the fact that this group is supported by influential powers in the American administration. ... Despite all this, despite the lure of official Arab complicity and Palestinian division ... the facts on the ground do not make the Israeli adventure easy. ... The war will not be limited, and the resistance will be wider and more effective."