Prepare for contingency from the Middle East

The government must be thoroughly prepared for North Korea’s possible military provocations when the United States and other allies focus their attention on the Middle East.

After the Islamist militant group Hamas in the Gaza Strip fired thousands of rockets to Israel on Saturday, Palestine and Israel have entered a war phase. The conflict in the powder keg in the Middle East is headed to an unknown territory after Lebanon launched mortar attacks on Israel on Sunday. Another flame of war amid the prolonged Ukraine war casts an ominous shadow over international politics and the economy.

The armed clash started after the Hamas launched a massive rocket attack on Israel in the “Al-Aqsa Flood” operation on the Sabbath, the day of worship and rest for Israelis. Hundreds of armed Hamas soldiers advanced to Israel's territory by land, sea and air and took hostage Israeli soldiers and civilians. In response, Israel declared a special emergency and launched a large-scale counterattack code-named Iron Swords.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to turn parts of Gaza “into rubble” in revenge. The Hamas responded by dispersing Israeli hostages across the strip. Given the ongoing war in Ukraine, it is not easy for anyone to broker a cease-fire. The military clash will likely continue for the time being.

The clash was triggered by the friction over the Al-Aqsa Mosque — a holy site for Judaists — in the Temple Mount in East Jerusalem. In April, Israeli police drove out Palestinians on evening prayers on Ramadan from the mosque by firing flash-bang shells at them. In reaction, Hezbollah, a Shiite armed group, fired rockets toward Israel, but shows signs of collaboration with the Sunni Hamas this time.

After Israel established diplomatic relations with the United Arab Emirates in 2020 and recently accelerated negotiations to normalize relations with Saudi Arabia, Hamas and other Sunni factions strongly resisted the development. Some pundits have suspicions that Iran, a Shia stronghold, incited the Hamas and the Hezbollah to shake the Middle East peace.

In today’s closely connected world, the war in Ukraine or the armed clash in the Middle East is not a remote concern. Above all, an armed conflict in the oil-rich region bodes ill for the Korean economy. The government must first take care of the safety of Korean citizens in the region and draw up a contingency plan to cope with the armed conflict.

Israel, surrounded by enemies and terrorist forces, is reminiscent of Korea’s current security situation. Even the Mossad failed to detect signs of the attack and Israel’s all-weather air defense system Iron Dome exposed a hole. The government must be thoroughly prepared for North Korea’s possible military provocations when the United States and other allies focus their attention on the Middle East.