Deal with Iran holds many dangers but also opportunities: Israel
Chief of Staff
By Tal Shalev
Published: 01/18/2016 - 06:06pm, updated: 06:07pm
Chief of staff assesses that threat to Israel from Iran will decrease in coming
years, rise from others
The nuclear deal with Iran contains “many risks, but also opportunities" the Israel
Defense Forces (IDF) Chief of Staff, Gadi Eizenkot, said Monday.
Speaking at the ninth annual Security Challenges Conference at the Institute for
National Security Studies in Tel Aviv, Eizenkot said that “the nuclear deal with Iran
constitutes a strategic turning point, compared to what IDF faced over the past
decade.”
Eizenkot's speech comes two days after the International Atomic Energy Agency
(IAEA) said that its "inspectors on the ground verified that Iran has carried out all
measures required under the (July deal)... to enable Implementation Day to occur."
According to Eizenkot, the implementation of the deal, will force the IDF to
reevaluate threats in the region and how to engage with them.
Eizenkot's long-term, five-year assessment is that "Iran will make great efforts to
fulfill their side of the bargain and enjoy the benefits."
However, Iran will continue to see itself as a regional power and after 15 years, when
the terms of the deal expire, may turn again towards expanding its nuclear
capabilities.
In the meantime, Eizekot said, the deal reduces the immediate Iranian threat to Israel
because it "rolls back Iran's nuclear capability and deepens the monitoring
capabilities," of the international community into Tehran's activities.
Iran will stay high on the list of the IDF's concerns however, as it continues to fund
other groups, such as Hezbollah, whose pose a more imminent threat to the Jewish
state.
Eizenkot explains that Iran is giving the Lebanese terror group Hezbollah $1 billion in
funding yearly, saying that '“Hezbollah is funded and trained by Iran.”
"The main enemy of the IDF at this time is Hezbollah," said Eizenkot.
In November of 2015, an IDF assessment put Hezbollah's rocket stockpile at 150,000
projectiles.
In December, Samir Kuntar, a Hezbollah linked terrorist was killed in a strike on his
apartment building in Syria. Hezbollah accused Israel of conducting the strike, which
Israel has neither confirmed not denied.
Hassan Nasrallah, leader of the militant organization said in a televised address that
there was "no doubt" that Israel was behind the strike and vowed revenge.
At the beginning of January, tensions along the border rose as Hezbollah's new
"Samir Kuntar martyrs" brigade targeted IDF vehicles with an IED, and Israel
retaliated with Anti-tank and mortar fire.
Inside the country, the most immediate threat is the wave of stabbing and car
ramming attacks carried out by Palestinians across Israel and the West bank, which
show little sign of letting up anytime soon. "101 stabbings during the wave of terror
of which we had no warning," Eizenkot noted, adding that the IDF has not adjusted its
thinking to understand and counter what is motivating the attacks.
In addition to assessing threats from Iran, Hezbollah and the Palestinians, the IDF is
keeping a watchful eye on the Islamic State. Eizenkot advises that as the terrorist
group loses ground in Syria, it may turn its attention towards Israel, and points out
that sympathies for the group are rising within the West Bank.
Tal Shalev is the diplomatic correspondent at i24news.
http://www.i24news.tv/en/news/israel/diplomacy-defense/99629-160118-deal-with-iranholds-many-dangers-but-also-opportunities-israel-chief-of-staff