Israeli soldiers on leave in the city of Jaffa. Photo: Mohammad Al-Kassim

Talk about war is getting louder in the Middle Eastern press, with many speculating about a possible outbreak of hostilities not only between Israel and Hamas, but Israel and Syria, or Iran and a host of adversaries.

In a column in Israel’s Haaretz newspaper, Bradley Burston writes, “The countdown to the Second Gaza War has begun in earnest.”

The peace process is widely believed to be at an impasse, and there are other significant developments as well.

This week Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak publicly warned Hamas “to watch its step,” while senior Hamas and other Palestinian factions are warning of another Israeli offensive on Gaza.

And last week Hamas blamed Israel’s Mossad for the killing of one of its a top commanders in Dubai, UAE, and vowed revenge.

The Israeli Air Force has stepped up its bombing of tunnels in Gaza and is reacting with airstrikes every time a rocket is launched out of Gaza towards Israel.

Meanwhile, in Gaza, two Palestinian factions claimed responsibility for planting two barrels of explosives that washed up in an Israeli port, marking a new tactic and an escalation of the conflict.

This week the top news out of Iran concerns the deployment of U.S. anti-missile systems off Iran’s coast in the gulf, leading to rising tensions with Tehran.

Some experts say heavyweight Saudi Arabia has been engaged in a proxy war with Iran in Yemen over Iran’s alleged support of the rebels there.

Israel could in theory find itself in a war on multiple fronts. Earlier this week in a bold statement, Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak said war with Syria was inevitable, and added that Iran is still a central danger to Israel’s security and all options are still on the table in how Israel deals with Iran.

Just last week, the London based pan-Arab newspaper Asharq Al-Awsat reported that Syria has called up its reserve military forces in anticipation of a full-scale war with Israel.

In Lebanon, the Secretary General of Hezbollah– the Lebanese Shi’a Islamist political and paramilitary group — Sayed Hassan Nasrallah, said his forces will “change the face of the Middle East region” if there is another war with Israel. The last time Israel and Hezbollah clashed was in the summer of 2006 and that war lasted for 34 days.

- Mohammad Al-Kassim

U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates spoke of tougher sanctions against Iran as Israeli defense minister Ehud Barak took a tougher approach, making clear that Israel has not ruled out military action.

The U.S. special envoy to the Middle East, George Mitchell, traveled to Syria and Egypt.

Daniel Levy, the co-director of the Middle East Task Force at the New America Foundation, joins Martin Savidge to discuss developments out of the Middle East.

The meeting was held one day after it was reported that Israel may be open to a freeze on settlement building.

Ghassan Shabaneh, an assistant professor of international studies at Marymount Manhattan College, joins Martin Savidge to discuss Palestinians’ concerns about settlements and other issues.

Israel is reportedly open to the idea of a freeze on building new settlements in the West Bank for three to six months as part of a broader peace effort.

In the meantime, however, Israel has approved of 50 new housing units in the West Bank for settlers who were earlier evicted from an unauthorized outpost.

Daniel Levy, a senior fellow and the co-director of the Middle East Task Force at the New America Foundation, joins Martin Savidge to discuss the importance of the settlement issue to the peace process.

On Tuesday, after many hours of contentious debate, Labor voted to join the coalition led by Netanyahu’s conservative Likud Party, bringing a centrist tone to the new government and a strong voice for continuing peace negotiations with the Palestinians.

Daniel Levy, who has been an advisor to the Israeli government and is now director of the Middle East Task Force at the New America Foundation, joins Martin Savidge to discuss how the coalition was formed, what concessions were made to Ehud Barak and where this leaves Tzipi Livni, the Kadima party leader.

Israeli Consul General Asaf Shariv speaks with Martin Savidge about the extent of Israel’s intentions in this ground offensive.

Anthony Cordesman of the Center for Strategic and International Studies continues the conversation with a description of the situation in Gaza. Cordesman gives his evaluation of Israel’s strategy and considers the possibilities for avoiding prolonged military occupation of the region.