MOSCOW, September 1. /TASS/. Israel is spreading itself thin with numerous military operations, while also betraying the nation's democratic ideals and ethical military standards it has long promoted, former Austrian Foreign Minister Karin Kneissl, now head of the G.O.R.K.I. Center at St. Petersburg State University, told TASS in an interview.
According to Kneissl, Israel has "overstretched its forces" with ongoing campaigns. "There is a term in international discourse – 'imperial overstretch.' It means a situation where a country undertakes more military operations than it can manage. That's exactly where Israel finds itself today," she said.
"Israel is now facing not only enormous human losses – both Palestinian and Israeli – but also the collapse of the image it has always sought to project: 'the most moral army' and 'the region's strongest democracy.' Reality shows us a different picture," she stressed.
Kneissl argued that Israel has achieved nothing in Gaza apart from destruction. "Hamas cannot be destroyed. Any hostages who may still be alive in horrific conditions have already been forgotten. We are witnessing a large-scale operation that violates all the norms of international law. The Israeli army is present in southern Lebanon, in southern Syria, and is already engaging in combat with the Syrian army there. The Israeli army bombed Iran for twelve days straight and seems ready to bomb it again. Perhaps Israel would have been defeated there too, if the US had not said 'enough' in June. All these Israeli operations cost money and lives and increasingly undermine its reputation," she said.
She noted that while Israel may still have allies in Germany and Austria, the mood elsewhere in Europe has shifted. "France has taken a firm stance and is critical of the Israeli government. Spain and Ireland have already imposed sanctions and voiced criticism, and Ireland has recalled its ambassador to Israel," Kneissl observed.
The former Austrian foreign minister also highlighted Israel's mobilization of 60,000 reservists. "Some Israeli citizens also live in Europe. I don't know if they have approached the many people with dual citizenship, but there are hundreds of thousands of people holding both Russian and Israeli passports. Among them are those who left Russia for Israel in 2022, saying that Israel is a peaceful country and that life there is better than in Russia. There were some well-known people who made their children, 13- and 14-year-old sons, citizens of Israel. This means that soon they will have to join the army. And this, I should say, is a huge problem for a lot of people," Kneissl concluded.