![Prefabricated houses installed by illegal Israeli settlers are seen under the protection of the Israeli army in the village of Umm al-Khair, located in the Masafer Yatta region south of Hebron in West Bank, Palestine on May 20, 2026. [Wisam Hashlamoun - Anadolu Agency]](https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/AA-20260520-41437832-41437815-ILLEGAL_ISRAELI_SETTLERS_EXPAND_OUTPOST_IN_WEST_BANKS_UMM_ALKHAIR-1.jpg)
A senior Russian military official said Israel risks ceasing “to exist as a state,” claiming Tel Aviv’s main objective is to escalate the ongoing conflict in the Middle East and draw the US and NATO into the war, Anadolu reports. In remarks released on Wednesday, Lt. Gen. Apti Alaudinov, deputy chief of the Russian military’s Main Military-Political Directorate and commander of the Akhmat special forces, told state news agency TASS that the regional conflict is likely to intensify further. “We must realize that the war in the Middle East will only escalate. I believe that is precisely Israel’s objective to ramp up the conflict as much as possible and drag both the US and the entire NATO bloc into it,” Alaudinov […]
