By Israel Kasnett, JNS—
The big news in Israel is not that Iran attempted to send kamikaze drones into Israeli territory last week or that Israel targeted that terrorist cell in Syria; these are not completely out of the ordinary or even unexpected. Rather, what was quite the unusual occurrence took place in central Israel when Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered officials from the security establishment to brief his chief rival, former Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff Benny Gantz, who serves as leader of the Blue and White Party.
Why so? It’s a rare move to brief a rival like Gantz and a possible signal that Israel may be readying itself for a major conflict on one or more fronts. Hamas and Islamic Jihad in the Gaza Strip show no signs of reining in their efforts to attack Israel, and whispers and murmurings can be heard about an imminent Israeli land incursion into the coastal territory. At the same time, the Lebanese border could explode at any moment, depending on the actions of Iran and Hezbollah, while the situation in Syria continues to remain tense amid the Iranian buildup there.
Given the tensions on these fronts, is Israel on the verge of an all-out war with Iran and its proxies?
Yoel Guzansky, a senior researcher at the Institute for National Security Studies, confirmed to JNS that the attempted drone attack was Iran’s attempt “to retaliate” for various Israeli operations against Iranian forces in Syria.
But the real story, according to Guzansky, is in Iraq, where Israel reportedly bombed a weapons depot recently, as well as other targets. He said Israel’s decision-makers had “no other choice” but to do so. Continue Reading….
