Israeli military sees Syria a destination for ‘millions of unemployed young Arabs’
Special to WorldTribune.com
TEL AVIV — Israel’s military has assessed that Al Qaida-aligned
fighters in Syria and others from Iran could turn from their war against Assad to other targets.
Military sources said the Intelligence Corps has been closely following
the thousands of foreign jihad fighters in Syria.
A Syrian reacts as flames and smoke rise from burned cars after two bombs exploded in the Qazaz neighborhood in Damascus in May. Al Qaida operatives were suspected in the bombings. /AP
The sources said the Al Qaida-aligned operatives, financed by Iran and Qatar, have been spending more time attacking reluctant Sunnis and could soon target the Jewish state.
The sources said they could not determine the number of foreign fighters in Syria. But they said at least 1,000 jihad operatives entered Syria in 2012 alone, with the flow expected to accelerate over the next few months. Many of them were believed to have been sent or financed by Iran to disrupt or discredit the Sunni opposition.
“Syria has become the new Afghanistan, where young Muslims are paid and armed to attack a regime seen as anti-Islamic,” the source said. “This is a very attractive option for millions of unemployed young Arabs.”
“The lack of governance in remote areas such as the Sinai Peninsula and the Israel-Syria border helps the terror groups develop,” Brig. Gen. Tamir Haiman, a division commander based in the north, said.
Haiman, commander of the 36th Armored Division, raised the prospect that
Al Qaida units would attack the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights or along
Israel’s northern border. The brigadier said the military detected
indications of an attack similar to an Al Qaida-aligned operation along
Israel’s southern border in August 2011.
“We are working to provide an operational response to the challenge that
is developing in Syria and are preparing for the possibility of a terror
attack that will be launched without prior warning from army intelligence —
as was the case in the attack in Ein Netafim a year ago, which originated in
Sinai,” Haiman said.
The sources said large areas of Syria, particularly in the south, have
turned into havens for Al Qaida-aligned fighters. They cited the area around
the southern city of Dera, located near the Jordanian border, and said to
contain a large number of fighters from Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon and Saudi
Arabia.
“These fighters are receiving rocket-propelled grenades, surface-to-air
missiles and anti-tank weapons, and they could easily turn this against us,”
a senior officer said.
