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DAILY ALERT
Thursday,
April 21, 2022

In-Depth Issues:



Israel to Provide Ukraine Rescue Forces with Protective Gear - Anna Ahronheim (Jerusalem Post)
    Defense Minister Benny Gantz announced Wednesday that Israel will provide Ukraine with helmets and protective vests for rescue and emergency personnel.
    "This is part of Israel's extensive effort to provide humanitarian aid," he said after speaking with Ukrainian Minister of Defense Oleksiy Reznikov.


Israeli Space Expert: Iran Assembling Building Blocks for Long-Range Ballistic Missiles - Yaakov Lappin (JNS)
    Iran is assembling the building blocks necessary to construct ballistic missiles with very long ranges which could threaten Europe and North America, Tal Inbar, a leading Israeli missile and space expert, told JNS.
    "When one examines what the IRGC is doing, it is possible to see the various technologies being developed for long-range missiles, such as solid propellant. They have the building blocks to build an intercontinental ballistic missile."
    "The IRGC, which is listed as a Foreign Terrorist Organization by the U.S., has a space division. I'm not aware of other terror organizations that can reach space....All missiles, including space launchers, are built by Iran's military industries, and all of the industries belong to the IRGC."


Iraqi Officials: No Proof of Mossad Base in Erbil (Asharq al-Awsat-UK)
    No evidence has been found that supports Tehran's claims that Israel's foreign intelligence agency, the Mossad, operated a permanent spy station in the Kurdish city of Erbil in northern Iraq, two Iraqi officials told Asharq al-Awsat on Monday.
    Iran's Revolutionary Guards launched a missile attack on a villa belonging to a Kurdish businessman in Erbil on March 13.
    One of the Iraqi officials said, "Iraq asked the Iranian side to back up its claims regarding the Israeli Mossad, but it failed to do so despite Iraq's efforts."


U.S., Allies Establish New Naval Group to Patrol Red Sea Region - Megan Eckstein (Defense News)
    The multinational Combined Maritime Forces in the Middle East will stand up a new Combined Task Force-153 to specifically address maritime threats in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.
    The U.S. Navy will lead the task force initially, but will quickly hand leadership over to a regional partner.
    U.S. Navy Vice-Adm. Brad Cooper, commander of U.S. 5th Fleet and Naval Forces Central Command, said CTF-153 will operate from the Suez Canal through the Bab el-Mandeb strait and to the Yemen-Oman border and will address human trafficking and smuggling of illegal weapons and drugs.

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New Report Highlights Libya's Role in Munich Massacre of Israeli Athletes - Yossi Melman (Ha'aretz)
    A new report prepared by the Dutch law firm Knoops' Advocaten on behalf of relatives of the Israeli victims of the 1972 Munich Olympics terror attack, in which 11 Israeli athletes were murdered, aims to prove that Libya financed and directed the attack.
    The group is seeking reparations from Libyan finances that are currently frozen in German banks.
    The report alleges that in August 1972, a month before the attack, Yasser Arafat and his deputy, Abu Iyad, traveled to Tripoli and asked Libyan leader Muammar Gadhafi to finance the operation.
    Quoting German intelligence files, the report states that Gadhafi gave them 1 million pounds sterling (the equivalent to $50 million today).
    The Palestinian terrorists who carried out the attack were trained in Libya by Gadhafi's intelligence service and army, and weapons used in the massacre were smuggled into Germany via Libyan diplomats.


The Mista'arvim: an Elite Israeli Undercover Unit Disguised as Palestinians - Emad Moussa (Al-Araby Al-Jadeed-UK)
    Mista'arvim is a Hebrew word derived from the Arabic musta'ribeen, which means those who disguise themselves as Arabs.
    They dress, speak, and act like Palestinians, and carry out missions in the heart of Arab towns and cities.
    Among other roles, the mista'arvim operate during Palestinian riots and even partake in burning tires and hurling rocks.
    They usually wear keffiyehs and leave their shirts untucked to conceal their handguns. They target young Palestinians closest to the Israeli army's front line and arrest them.
    The goal is to create an atmosphere of distrust, paranoia, and fear, thus discouraging riots.
    "You can't really know if this person next to you is another Palestinian like you or an undercover agent that can abduct you at any moment or pull out a weapon," explained Esmat Omar, a Palestinian expert on Israeli affairs and intelligence.


Germany to Build Two Solar Power Stations in Gaza (WAFA-PA)
    The Palestinian Authority and Germany signed a 16 million euro agreement to build two solar power stations in Gaza with a total capacity of 18 megawatts.
    The first station will be in the Rafah area in the south, and the second in the Sudaniya area in northern Gaza to supply solar energy to the desalination plant in the area.


Jordan's Undeclared War Against Syria Drug Traffickers - Yolande Knell (BBC News)
    Syria's transformation into a narco-state is sowing new seeds of misery across the region.
    Al-Rashid Hospital in Amman treats addicts from Jordan and Gulf Arab states where the amphetamine Captagon - cheaply manufactured in Syria and Lebanon - has become the drug of choice.
    Captagon has turned into a multi-billion-dollar industry in Syria, worth far more than any legal exports.
    Reports have linked powerful figures in business and the military to its manufacturing and distribution.
    "The areas in which Captagon production is most pronounced are those controlled by the Assad regime and close familial relations of the regime," says Ian Larson, a Syria analyst for the Center for Operational Analysis and Research (COAR) in Cyprus.
    Since the start of 2022, the Jordanian army has intercepted 17 million Captagon pills. 15.5 million Captagon pills were picked up in 2021.


Israel Develops First Rapid Home Pregnancy Test Using Saliva - Ruti Levy (Ha'aretz)
    In the coming weeks, the Israeli company Salignostics will begin commercial production of its Salistick, the world's first rapid pregnancy test that uses saliva.
    The test kits have been approved by the EU and the Israeli Health Ministry.
    Salignostics founders include the former dean of the dental school of Hebrew University and four doctoral and postdoctoral students at its salivary gland molecular medicine lab.

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News Resources - North America, Europe, and Asia:
  • There Is No Symmetry of Violence between Israelis and Palestinians - Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett interviewed by Christiane Amanpour
    Amanpour: "It's a constant cycle of killing, bloodshed...there doesn't seem to be any attempt to negotiate an end to the actual conflict."
    Bennett: "Well, first of all, the way the facts were presented is not accurate. Israel is peaceful. And about a month ago, unfortunately, a new wave of terror was thrown upon the Israeli public....Arab Muslim terrorists, some of them affiliated with ISIS, just came with rifles and started shooting people on the street. This is unacceptable. So I object to the notion of both sides. No. When they don't attack us, we have no issues with them. But when they do attack us, I have to fight back and hit them at their terror bases."
    Amanpour: "When Palestinians see and when your region sees Israeli soldiers inside that [al-Aqsa] mosque, it creates a lot of tension, a lot of unease. Why do you allow Israeli soldiers to go into that mosque?"
    Bennett: "Christiane, there you go again starting the story in the middle. But the actual fact is that, last Friday, at about 5:00 in the morning, roughly 300 Palestinian rioters entered the Temple Mount Mosque with explosives, with stones. They began desecrating their own mosque, burning, throwing stones, and preventing about 80,000 decent Muslims from going to pray. My responsibility as prime minister of Israel is to provide freedom of prayer to everyone in Jerusalem, including Muslims, which is why I had to send in policemen to remove the rioters. And it worked. Indeed, 80,000 Muslims went on later to pray peacefully."
    Amanpour: "Your own Israeli security people" say they are concerned about "settler terrorism."
    Bennett: "What you have been projecting is blatantly false....because it's a lie, simply a lie."
    Amanpour: "You cannot say that to me. You cannot tell me I'm lying."
    Bennett: "You are misrepresenting the facts. It's a tiny minority. And I object to the symmetry that you're trying to create here....Who's getting murdered? We're seeing Palestinians murder Israelis. We're not seeing Israelis murdering Palestinians. And that's why there's no symmetry here."  (CNN)
News Resources - Israel and the Mideast:
  • Israel Airstrikes Target Gaza in Response to Rocket Attacks - Jack Khoury
    In response to a second Palestinian rocket attack within 48 hours, Israeli jets struck an underground facility in Gaza used to manufacture rocket engines early Thursday in what the IDF deemed "the most significant" attack since the May 2021 war. (Ha'aretz)
        See also Gaza Rocket Damages Sderot Home (Ynet News)
  • Israeli Defense Minister: Benefits for Palestinians Could Be Rolled Back if Violence Continues - Emanuel Fabian
    Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz warned Palestinians in Gaza on Tuesday that steps Israel has taken to boost their economy are being threatened by terror groups ramping up incitement and launching rocket attacks. Israel recently increased the number of Palestinians from Gaza who can enter Israel for work to the highest quota in 15 years. "These are moves we are planning to expand if stability is maintained, or we can roll them back," Gantz said. (Times of Israel)
  • Hamas Isn't Prepared to Restart War with Israel - Yaniv Kubovich
    Hamas hasn't recuperated fully from last May's fighting and isn't prepared for war with Israel. So it isn't likely to respond with violence to clashes between Palestinians and Israeli forces in Jerusalem, according to the Israeli military's intelligence assessment. Israeli officials say there is also economic pressure from the 15,000 Gazans working in Israel to avoid another war. According to the Israeli assessment, most Gazans oppose escalation, in part due to a sense that they "already paid a price" in last year's fighting, which also started with clashes in Jerusalem. (Ha'aretz)
        See also Hamas Has Major Role in Temple Mount Riots - Elior Levy
    Under its new leader in Jerusalem, Khaled Sabah, Hamas took on a major role in igniting the recent wave of violence in the city. In his previous position, Sabah was charged with providing funds to Hamas operatives while publicly holding a job as the head of a charity organization.
        Sabah was instructed by Hamas leader Saleh al-Arouri to set up a terror infrastructure that would be ready to operate by Ramadan, especially at the Al Aqsa mosque. Sabah was recently arrested by Israel and is facing trial. (Ynet News)
Global Commentary and Think-Tank Analysis:

    Palestinians

  • The Aqsa Mosque Is Not in Danger - Editorial
    The Aqsa Mosque is not in any danger from Israel. Reasonable people understand this. Contrary to rumors that always spread this time of year, Israel does not have a secret plan to undermine the mosque. This canard stretches back at least a century to Grand Mufti Haj Amin al-Husseini and led to the deadly 1929 riots. The "Aqsa is in danger" libel has led to hundreds of deaths over the last century.
        What is needed now is for responsible leaders and countries to dispel the lie, not add to it. Jordan's Prime Minister Bisher Al-Khasawneh said: "I praise...those who throw rocks at the pro-Zionists who are defiling al-Aqsa Mosque." Really? Israel was trying to keep Palestinian youth incited by Hamas from hurling rocks down on Jewish worshipers at the Western Wall 62 feet below.
        Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said, "Here is the truth: Israel does everything so that everyone can always celebrate the holidays in security - Jews, Muslims and Christians. We expect from everyone that they do not join the lies, and certainly not encourage violence against Jews."  (Jerusalem Post)
        See also Israel Expects Its Partners to Condemn Extremists Partaking in Violence
    The Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs Spokesperson said Monday: "In recent weeks, the Israel Police have acted responsibly, with restraint, and with discretion in the face of many dozens of rioters who with their actions desecrate the values of Islam and the holiness of the [Temple] Mount. The Israel Police's actions...are what has allowed prayers to take place for tens of thousands of Muslim believers. Such activity came only after all other means were exhausted, including intensive dialogue with the Waqf."
        "Statements supporting violent actions, including the throwing of rocks, are beyond understanding and contribute to escalation. Israel is maintaining the status quo and expects all of its partners to condemn extremists partaking in incitement and violence."  (Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs)
  • Is Israel Facing a New Intifada? - Lt.-Gen. (ret.) Shaul Mofaz interviewed by Herb Keinon
    Lt.-Gen. (ret.) Shaul Mofaz was Chief of Staff when the IDF entered the West Bank in Operation Defensive Shield on March 29, 2002, to quell the Palestinian suicide bombing campaign that had murdered 135 people in Israel that month during the Second Intifada. Mofaz said the reality now is not at all similar. "Then the terror was directed by Arafat, and most of the Palestinians - 70% to 80% - joined in the confrontation and supported it." Today, the terrorism is not being directed by the PA leadership, nor does it have the same level of popular participation and support.
        "Imagine 45,000 soldiers, half of them reservists, going into all the refugee camps, 15 in all, all eight of the cities, all of the tunnels, going into the casbahs and going house to house to take out weapons." That operation fundamentally changed the country's security reality. "That the IDF today operates freely in the area is thanks to Defensive Shield." The Second Intifada, Mofaz said, also changed public opinion in Israel, with a large part of Israelis no longer believing that it was possible to trust Arafat or the PA.
        Mofaz said he did not see the support of 70-80% of the Palestinian population for an armed confrontation with Israel today. "Something happened to Palestinian society as well. Palestinian society, and a good part of our enemies, understand that they won't get achievements through violence and terror. Many of the Palestinian leaders during that period will tell you today that it was a mistake to strike out against Israel with suicide bombers and guns to kill Israelis to achieve diplomatic aims...because while Israelis were obviously hurt, those who paid a higher price were the Palestinians."  (Jerusalem Post)
  • Jenin Isn't Gaza - Yoav Limor
    In the last few weeks, Jenin in the northern West Bank has become the main center of terror. The IDF and the Israel Security Agency have been active in the region. It's a complicated effort which tries to distinguish between those involved in terrorism and those who only seek to go out to work. The commander of the IDF's Menashe (Jenin) Regional Brigade, Col. Arik Moyal, told Israel Hayom, "Our mission is to stop the wave, and to return quiet to this sector."
        "In the long term, we want there to be a different reality here. The Jenin economy has been crazy in the last few years. On Saturdays more than 3,000 Arab Israeli vehicles enter via the Jalama [Gilboa] checkpoint. They come to do shopping, and they leave millions of shekels in Jenin. The stores and the commerce are flourishing. The rentals are sky high...It's good for us, because they have something to lose."
        "At the end of the day, the majority want to live. To make a living. They understand that the refugee camp is taking them backwards. That the terror which comes from there destroys them. They would be very happy if we would deal with that place." Palestinian security forces have been prevented from entering the camp, which has essentially turned into an independent enclave.
        "Jenin isn't Gaza, even though they try to produce for themselves a narrative of 'Little Gaza.' What we have here is a bunch of thugs who are sitting around and playing toy soldiers....But, ultimately, it's not an army. There's nothing here like there was in the Second Intifada."  (Israel Hayom)


    • Comparing Ukraine and Israel

  • How the Russia-Ukraine War and the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict Differ - Amb. Alan Baker
    Attempts to compare Russia's massive violations of international law in Ukraine with Israel's actions to defend its population from Palestinian terror attacks patently lack the most basic sense of fairness and proportion. Israel does not conduct any high-level war of aggression against its Palestinian neighbors. Nor does it willfully and deliberately target civilians or religious, cultural, educational, and medical sites.
        Israel legitimately responds in self-defense by selectively and proportionately targeting only those specific military targets, terror headquarters, rocket emplacements, and ammunition-storage facilities that serve the terror organizations. Moreover, Israel enables a constant flow into Palestinian areas of thousands of trucks carrying supplies, food, provisions, medicines, and materials.
        The writer, who heads the international law program at the Jerusalem Center, served as legal adviser and deputy director-general of Israel's Ministry of Foreign Affairs. (Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs)
  • Over Ukraine, They Side with the Victims. Over Israel, They Side with the Aggressors - Melanie Phillips
    Not only the Western media but also the Biden administration, which unequivocally condemned Russia for attacking Ukraine, refuse to condemn the Arabs who have been hurling boulders and firebombs at Israeli Jews this past week and instead hold Israel responsible for the escalation in violence.
        The Palestinian Authority has been inciting hysteria and violence by claiming that the "evil Jews" - note "Jews," not "Israelis" - are "defiling" al-Aqsa and intend to destroy it (a baseless claim which the Arab and Muslim world has used to incite murderous attacks on Jews for more than a century).
        The demand is not just that Jews should stay out of the al-Aqsa mosque itself (where Jews have no interest in entering), but that no Jew should be allowed onto the Temple Mount - an area of more than 35 acres. The Palestinian Arabs demand that Jews be barred from the most sacred site in Judaism, the site of the Jews' two Biblical Temples.
        The writer is a columnist for The Times-UK. (Substack)


    • Iran

  • Amb. Ron Dermer: Iranian Deal Dangerous for U.S. National Security
    The pending Iran nuclear deal, and any decision to delist the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) from America's list of Foreign Terrorism Organizations (FTOs), could put the U.S. at risk, according to former Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Ron Dermer. He said Iran's ballistic missile program targets the U.S., and that the IRGC may be active in the U.S. right now. "They're trying to assassinate former [U.S.] officials."
        He highlighted that the sunset clauses in the current plan will be automatically activated within the next three to eight years, "which essentially means that Iran...can just walk into the nuclear club, by building an industrial-size nuclear enrichment program, with international legitimacy."
        "In 2015, no one knew what was going to happen after the deal - but we saw exactly what happened....There's no question anymore. The archive that Israel stole exposed how much Iran has lied to the world."  (JNS)
  • Ex-Israeli National Security Adviser: No Iran Deal Is Better than Current Proposal - Yaakov Lappin
    Former Israeli national security adviser Brig.-Gen. (res.) Professor Jacob Nagel has warned that the current draft of the Iran nuclear deal should "not be signed under any circumstances." This is due to the weakness of the proposed arrangement and the manner in which it would advance the Islamic Republic to an alarming nuclear threshold status and beyond in the near future.
        "When will we know that the Iranians have gone too far? I believe we are approaching that point....The more we wait, the more likely it is that we will find ourselves building a stable door for horses that already bolted."  (JNS)
  • Why Iran Wants the Revolutionary Guards Removed from the U.S. Terror List - Zvi Bar'el
    More than 4,000 Iranian doctors applied for emigration permits over the past year. They were joined by thousands of others with professions - such as plumbers, carpenters and even barbers - who can no longer make a living given the huge spike in prices and the devaluation of the Iranian rial. Yet Iran's revenues from oil exports jumped 40% over the past 12 months.
        The budget of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps doubled compared to last year and currently stands at $22 billion. In comparison, only $8 billion was allocated to the regular army, even though the IRGC constitutes only 10% of the entire armed forces in Iran. The IRGC also controls civilian and military production lines, fuel terminals, and airports. According to Western estimates, it controls more than half of Iran's economy, directly employing 200,000 civilians and providing work for 1 million contractors and subcontractors. This is why Iran is so adamant that the IRGC be removed from the U.S. list of designated terror organizations. (Ha'aretz)
  • Iran's Hollow Victory - Karim Sadjadpour
    Since 1979, Iran has sought to expel the U.S. from the Middle East, replace Israel with Palestine, and remake the region in its image. Tehran has not achieved any of its ambitions, but it is feeling emboldened by its recent successes. Iran has established primacy in Iraq, Lebanon, Syria, and Yemen, four failed or failing states.
        Iran's success is as attributable to opportunism as it is to resolve. The Lebanese civil war, the U.S. invasion of Iraq, and the Arab uprisings all created power vacuums that Iran filled with its network of foreign militias. The story is more about Arab weakness than Iranian strength.
        However, Iran has neglected the well-being of its people and made itself poorer and less secure. Moreover, Iran will continue to bleed national resources to subsidize regional militias and external conflicts, deepening the public's frustration and necessitating ever-greater repression.
        The U.S. retains 45,000-65,000 troops in the Persian Gulf. Israel is a global technological hub more integrated into the Arab world than ever before. And the model most Arabs aspire to is the socially liberal, globally integrated, and economically prosperous UAE, not Khomeinist Iran. Opinion polls show that nearly 2/3 of young Arabs view Iran as an adversary, a sizable majority of Arabs of all ages want Iran to withdraw from regional conflicts, and more than half of Arab Shiites hold an "unfavorable" view of Iran. Arabs who chafed under centuries of Turkish and Western hegemony will not countenance Iranian influence easily.
        The writer is a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. (Foreign Affairs)
  • The Iranian Takeover of Lebanon - Amos Harel
    According to Brig.-Gen. Shlomi Binder, the outgoing commander of the Galilee Division, in Lebanon, "Hizbullah is expanding the Iranian foothold. While ordinary citizens don't have food or fuel, Iranian-funded grocery chains and gas stations are assisting the Shi'ite community."
        "Even if Iran is subject to international sanctions, its aid to Hizbullah, though it has been affected, hasn't stopped. A soldier in Lebanon's army earns less than a Hizbullah operative....The Iranian influence is dangerous, not least because today they are more ready to be bold and play with fire in our direction."
        The main change in recent years relates to the deployment in southern Lebanon of the Radwan unit, Hizbullah's elite force, after years of experience in the Syrian civil war. "They have tools they didn't have in 2006, notably an attack plan and capability in our territory. They have expanded the firepower aimed at our home front and they have improved their defensive capability in the face of an IDF maneuver."
        In the next confrontation, Binder says, the goal will be "to finish when Hizbullah has sustained a mortal blow. We will try to reduce significantly their arsenal of all types, to strike at commanders and fighters. The hope is that it will lead to deterrence of many years."  (Ha'aretz)


    • Other Issues

  • Warm Peace and the Challenge of People-to-People Relations after the Abraham Accords - Nir Boms and Ahmed Khuzaie
    The Abraham Accords were crafted in a very different spirit than the earlier peace agreements between Israel and Jordan or Egypt, after which actual people-to-people (P2P) relations remained effectively nonexistent. In contrast, a very different energy arose with over 127 memorandums signed since August 2020 that have established new connections, trade, and collaboration in a number of fields. We are able to vouch for the very positive, open, and friendly atmosphere that we have repeatedly encountered at zoom events, visits, and meetings.
        At the same time, while Israeli NGOs flocked to Dubai looking for partners, many Israelis may have failed to recognize that their Arab counterparts were still unprepared to move forward given the complexities of the situation domestically, and they lacked the necessary structures to engage in P2P work. Past and current public opinion makes them more cautious.
        Some welcome the change, while others are not happy but keep it to themselves, and the rest shout their rejection from the rooftops. There remains a lack of familiarity with the other. Both parties operate differently and are subject to different internal sensitivities. Some caution and wisdom must be applied when building these channels so that they will succeed.
        Dr. Nir Boms is a research fellow at the Dayan Center for Middle East Studies at Tel Aviv University. Ahmed Khuzaie is a political consultant with Khuzaie Associates in Washington. (Washington Institute for Near East Policy)
  • Why Does Joseph's Tomb Continue to Attract Jewish Pilgrims Despite the Dangers? - David Isaac
    Joseph's Tomb was once again vandalized by a Palestinian mob on April 9. Under the Oslo agreements, the tomb remained in Israeli hands despite being located in Area A of Judea and Samaria. Why does Joseph's Tomb continue to attract Jewish pilgrims?
        Jeffrey Woolf, professor of Talmud at Bar-Ilan University, cited three main reasons: 1) Jewish tradition considers it one of three sites in ancient Israel in which "the nations of the world cannot defraud Israel, saying that we stole them"; 2) a written record stretching back 1,700 years identifies the current site as Joseph's Tomb, and, Woolf says, "we can assume an oral tradition that goes back even further"; and 3) Joseph's story symbolizes the Jewish people's longing to return to their homeland.
        Woolf said there are three places in the Bible in which a land purchase is described. The first is the Cave of Machpelah, purchased by Abraham as a burial place for his wife Sarah (Genesis 23). Second is the purchase of a threshing floor by King David to build an altar to the Lord, which became the Temple Mount (II Samuel 24 18-25). Third is the burial place of Joseph at a site purchased by his father, Jacob, for a hundred pieces of silver (Genesis 33:18-20 and Joshua 24:32). (JNS)
Observations:

Laser Game-Changers in Middle Eastern Warfare - Amb. Dore Gold (Jerusalem Post)
  • Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz, commenting on the latest Israeli anti-missile laser test, said: "energy-based weapons with a powerful laser are, in my opinion, a very significant game-changer."
  • The Soviet Scud missiles supplied to Egypt just before the Yom Kippur War in 1973 offered assured penetrability of Israel's air space. From then on, Israel had to find a way to neutralize the ballistic missiles of its adversaries.
  • The introduction of a new generation anti-missile system based on lasers could provide Israel with a more cost-effective solution than the Iron Dome, whose Tamir interceptors each cost $80,000. The cost of each laser shot is less than $5.00.
  • Today, rockets and ballistic missiles are being employed by Iranian proxy forces like Hizbullah, Hamas, and the Houthis in Yemen. The Houthis have also fired armed drones at the heart of Riyadh and at Abu Dhabi.
  • There is a collective interest among Israel and the Gulf states to deny Iranian allies the ability to hit their most sensitive infrastructures.
  • The Abraham Accords have created new regional possibilities for marrying up Israeli technology with the financial power of the Arab Gulf states. This is the real game-changer that is emerging now.

    The writer, president of the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs, served as Israel's ambassador to the UN and director-general of the Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
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