Villes détruites, villes construites. Réflexion sur les stratégies politiques et militaires à partir de l'exemple des conflits israélo-arabes (Liban, Israël, Palestine)

International audience ; The town is an obvious component of a conflict, being at the same time the battleground, the instrument, and the stake. This reflection, starting from geopolitical observations and research on the situation in the Near East, attempts to shed light on the links between cities, and political and military strategies. In doing so, it is possible to measure the complex, sometimes contradictory but true nature of this link, around which political and military strategies materialize according to changing power relationships. During the conflicts which have punctuated the history of the Near East, three strands of the political and military strategies of Israel and its Arab neighbours can be identified : open warfare, the buffer zone (or glacis), occupation and annexation. What is the place of the city in these strategic axes ? The city is omnipresent in the war context, making it possible to identify three situations : the destroyed city, the occupied city, the resulting city. In each case, Beirut and more generally Lebanon's cities, Palestinian cities or "city-colonies," the Homa Oumigdal of Jewish settlements in the West Bank are reliable examples. Thus, we attempt to show how cities can bring about a spatial dimension of thought, both political (ideological) and military, illustrated by deeds and facts. ; À la fois terrain, enjeu et instrument, la ville est une composante évidente de la problématique du conflit. Cette réflexion géopolitique, partant d'observations et de recherches sur la situation au Proche-Orient, tente d'apporter un éclairage sur les liens existants entre villes et stratégies politiques et militaires. Ce faisant, il s'agit de mesurer la nature complexe, parfois contradictoire mais bien réelle, de ce lien autour duquel se matérialisent les stratégies politiques et militaires, selon des rapports de force changeants. Au cours des conflits qui ont émaillé l'histoire du Proche-Orient, trois axes de la stratégie militaire et politique d'Israël et de ses voisins arabes peuvent ...