(Ynet News) Boaz Ganor - Israel is finding itself facing three of the most serious strategic threats it has known in the past ten years: Anarchy in the PA and continual strengthening of Hamas, a steady flow of global jihadists into Israel and the territories, and Iran's nuclear program, accompanied by explicit threats against Israel. The reduction in Palestinian terror is temporary, Even if the unexpected occurs and Hamas decides to continue the cease-fire, other organizations will continue their attempts to stage terror attacks. Signs are growing that al-Qaeda, Iraqi terror leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, and other organizations are trying to focus their terror activities on central Asia and the Middle East, and as usual, Israel finds itself right in the eye of the storm. Zarqawi's activists and others have ratcheted up their presence in countries bordering on Israel - Jordan, Lebanon, and Egypt. The vacuum created in the Gaza Strip after Israel's departure and Abbas' failure have allowed global Jihad to increase its terrorist abilities in Gaza, and eventually they will probably do so in the West Bank as well. Iran could - were its installations attacked by any outside power - support or even demand that its proxy organization, Hizballah, use its missiles against Israel. The writer is deputy dean of the Lauder School of Government and Diplomacy at the Interdisciplinary Center Herzliya.
2006-01-17 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive