IDF: Iran behind all recent attacks in Golan region - Lilach Shoval

by Lilach Shoval

Senior IDF Northern Command officer: Terrorist operatives in Golan border area have received "clear guidance" from Iran to carry out attacks • In future war, Lebanese military might join Hezbollah in fight against Israel, officer warns.

 

An Israeli military vehicle next to the border with Syria in the Golan Heights | Photo credit: AP

"All of the attacks in the Golan Heights sector since December 2013 have been carried out with Iranian direction," a senior IDF Northern Command officer told reporters on Sunday. 

According to the officer, several hundred Hezbollah operatives are currently active on the Syrian side of the border in the Golan Heights. The officer also said Iran was responsible for the planting of an explosive device on the Israel-Syria border in April.

Terrorist operatives in the border area have received "clear guidance" from Iran to carry out attacks, the officer said. One terrorist cell operating in the area is led by Samir Kuntar, the Lebanese Druze terrorist who was released from Israeli prison in 2008 as part of a swap deal with Hezbollah. Kuntar has recruited local Syrians to join the ranks of his cell. 

"Iran sends advisers [to the area] and provides money, weapons and training [to terrorists operating there]," the officer said. 

At any given moment, the IDF Northern Command faces at least two warnings of impending attacks in the Golan region.

Two weeks ago, the Israel Defense Forces conducted an exercise simulating an Israeli incursion into Syria in response to attacks on the border. The main threat in the area is posed by jihadi groups, not the Syrian military. According to IDF estimates, around 30,000 radical Islamists currently operate in Syria -- members of either the Islamic State group or the Nusra Front.

The IDF estimates that the strength of the Syrian military has been cut in half since the outbreak of the civil war there in 2011.

The IDF believes that most Syrian Druze in the border area remain loyal to the regime of Syrian President Bashar Assad. 

Out of the 12,000 people living in or near the Druze village of Hader near the border, fewer than a dozen are taking part in anti-Israel terrorist activities, the IDF officer said.

The IDF has not ruled out potential cooperation with the Druze in Hader if certain circumstances materialize, such as the village being completely surrounded by rebel groups.

According to information obtained by the IDF, the transfer of advanced weaponry from Syria to Lebanon has increased recently. The IDF is also concerned by the growing ties between Hezbollah and the Lebanese military. It is possible that the Lebanese military might join Hezbollah in a future war against Israel.

Lilach Shoval

Source: http://www.israelhayom.com/site/newsletter_article.php?id=27647

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