Heavy Clashes
Erupt on Israeli Border During Rebel Offensive
IDF
Chief of General Staff Lt. Gen. Benny Gantz shared a bleak outlook on
the internal conflict in Syria and its repercussions for Israel,
characterizing the ongoing civil war as a lose-lose situation for
Israel. “Heads or tails,” Gantz said, describing the almost
three-year war in terms of a coin toss, “the result is negative
either way.”
“If
[Syrian President Bashar] Assad survives he is beholden to the
radical axis, to Iran and Hezbollah which bolster him,” he
elaborated. “If Assad falls, he will be replaced by global
jihadists or other organizations.” Even if Assad does emerge from
the conflict on top, Gantz asserted, he will not regain full control
of Syria, leaving the door open for other extremist elements.
Speaking
at an event at the Interdisciplinary Center in Herzliya, Gantz said
that Israel’s strategic reality was changing, and the country would
have to adapt. “Every one of our borders is tested more than in the
past,” he said. “The [neighboring] nations as we know them and
the borders as we know them exist de jure but it is doubtful that
they exist de facto.”
A
senior Israeli intelligence official told the Associated Press that
more than 30,000 al-Qaeda linked fighters were active in Syria, a
huge increase over previous Western estimates. He claimed that the
Islamic rebel groups in Syria currently focused on toppling Assad
intend to turn their sights on Israel after dispatching the Syrian
government. “The longer the war in Syria continues, the more
jihadists and radicals are coming to this territory,” the official
said.
The
jihadis currently control most of the Syrian territory that directly
borders Israel, although they have not fired rockets or missiles at
Israeli territory.
Source: Times
of Israel
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