FROM JOSEPH FARAH'S G2 BULLETIN

ISRAEL FACING GREATER THREAT THAN ISIS?

Jewish state in precarious place between rival Muslim factions

F. Michael Maloof

BEIRUT, Lebanon – Does the old adage “The enemy of my enemy is my friend” apply when it aligns the interests of Israel and ISIS? That’s the question asked in a report by Joseph Farah’s G2 Bulletin.

Middle East sources in Lebanon say Israel actually has been downplaying criticism of ISIS because it views the Sunni jihadist army’s primary rival, Hezbollah and its backers in Shiite Iran, as the greater threat to its security.

ISIS has even attacked Hezbollah for backing the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, a Shiite-Alawite aligned with Iran. The jihadist fighters have decided to bring the battle into Hezbollah’s own backyard, with the tacit backing of Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.

G2 sources say probes against Hezbollah will emanate from three predominantly Sunni regions in Lebanon: Northern Lebanon; around the region of Saida, or Sidon, south of the Lebanese capital of Beirut; and the Golan Heights.

Middle East observers point out that Israel can see ISIS and al-Nusra fighters in the Sunni-dominated area of the Golan Heights in Syria. But Israel does not regard them as an imminent threat as it does Hezbollah, which both Israel and the U.S. regard as a terrorist group.

If Syria were to fall, however, presumably to the strongest Sunni group, ISIS, Hezbollah’s existence would be threatened, one informed source said. An all-out sectarian conflict would spill into Lebanon, the source said, “a situation which would be worse than the 1975 to 1990 civil war in Lebanon.”

The development may be why the Israelis haven’t been so eager to criticize the Saudi financial backing of the Sunni jihadist fighters who are increasingly aligning with ISIS.

The Lebanese source said Iranian influence is growing, and the U.S. isn’t doing much to halt it, which is of major concern to both Israel and the Saudi kingdom.

“Israel needs a scarecrow to confront Saudi Arabia,” the source said, “and that’s why Israel won’t confront Sunni extremism directly and will continue holding Iran up as the enemy.”

He said Israel cannot afford for Saudi Arabia and Iran to come together. For that reason, Israel will continue focusing on the Iranian nuclear program, threatening military attacks to destroy it.

G2 sources say ISIS and al-Nusra may be working together to make the northern part of Lebanon part of the ISIS caliphate, which would have the effect of limiting Hezbollah fighters from going into Syria to assist the Syrian military.

At the same time, Hezbollah seeks to limit its own vulnerability as it commits more resources to Assad’s survival. For that reason, Hezbollah has acquired from Iran advanced weapons such as the Fateh 110, which could threaten most of Israel.

Yet G2 sources say such advanced weaponry could approach the point of posing an acute threat to Israel, which in turn could prompt the Jewish state to launch a preemptive attack. To do so, however, Israel would need to eliminate any military threat that Iran would pose.

Read more at http://www.wnd.com/2014/12/israel-facing-greater-threat-than-isis/#dc7O3I5dpVjph2US.99