Israeli Military to Create Command to Combat Iran Threats

W460

Israel's military will set up a special branch in its general staff dedicated to threats from Iran, it said Tuesday.

The military said it will appoint a major general to head the command, which is part of a broader restructuring in the general staff.

A statement by the military offered few details about the new command, saying the nature of the new branch's work was "yet to be determined." But the move highlights the importance Israel places on the threats it views coming from Iran.

Iran has forces based in Syria, Israel's northern neighbor, and supports Hizbullah militants in Lebanon. In Gaza, it supplies Islamic Jihad with cash, weapons and training, and also supports Hamas, the Islamic militant group that rules the coastal territory. Israel also accuses Iran of trying to develop nuclear weapons -- a charge Iran denies.

Israel has repeatedly struck Iran-linked targets in Syria in recent years and has warned against any permanent Iranian presence on the frontier. But its battle against Iran has increasingly come out of the shadows, with Iranian and Israeli forces coming into direct confrontation.

In November, the Israeli military said fighter jets hit multiple targets belonging to Iran's elite Quds force, including surface-to-air missiles, weapons warehouses and military bases.

Israel has also struck a number of Iranian military targets in Syria, including munition storage facilities, an intelligence site and a military training camp, in response to an Iranian missile attack a day earlier.

Comments 2
Thumb chrisrushlau 19 February 2020, 01:37

You can see why AP is going out of business, but this new structure underlines how fearful Israel is of democracy and emphasizes that fear never identifies the threat accurately: hurting Iranian property and killing Iranians will not make Hamas the loser in the election where it defeated Abbas and the PA making him a president without an office, nor will it make Shia Muslims and their timid representatives, Hezbollah, a minority demographic segment in Lebanon. The majority is not always right but the more people you consult with the better your judgments. "Herd mentality" is what the aristocracy calls it when the people "disrupt, dismantle, and defeat" its castles. Castles are obsolete from the moment they are built.

Thumb LongLiveLebanon 19 February 2020, 15:10

I don't blame the Israelis. Iran's foolish threats are real. And Lebanon must stay OUT of this which is sadly not the case so far.