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Bin Laden - Clear and present danger?
Photo: Reuters

Defense Committee: 'Don't underestimate al-Qaeda'

'They've struck in New York and London, they can easily target the Middle East and we need to be prepared for that scenario,' warns MK Tzachi Hangebi after Osama Bin Laden threatens Israel in a new audio recording

Members of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee are taking Osama Bin Laden's new threat seriously. "The threat of al-Qaeda is real. They've struck in Lebanon, Australia, Indonesia, Madrid, New York and London. They can easily target the Middle East and we need to be prepared for that

scenario," said committee chairman MK Tzachi Hanegbi (Kadima) on Sunday afternoon.

 

Committee members journeyed to Israel's northern border earlier in the day and were met by high ranking IDF officers, including Maj. Gen. Gadi Eisenkot, head of the Northern Command, who briefed them on the current situation with Lebanon and Syria after the Second Lebanon War.

 

"Since the war the committee has been in continuous contact with the command, we feel there has been a significant improvement in many areas, especially in how the army perceives the importance of preparing itself for varying scenarios.

 

"The chief of staff, prime minister and defense minister are all working tirelessly to ensure we are ready for any future confrontations," said Hanegbi.

 

"We are not living in a new Middle East, but rather in a Middle East where you have to be prepared for new situations every day."


Committee members being briefed by IDF officer (Photo: Avihu Shapira)

 

"A year and a half ago, before the war, many feared that Nasrallah would rise to power and eventually become president of Lebanon," recalled Hanegbi, "but Israel's response has weakened him; it's been a year and a half since even a single bullet has been fired at us from Lebanon, Hizbullah understands now that Israel will not tolerate any infringement on its sovereignty."

 

However not everyone shares Hanegbi's optimistic point of view. According to MK Silvan Shalom (Likud), Hizbullah has only grown stronger.

 

"UNIFIL (the multinational UN peacekeeping force in Lebanon) has no deterrent power; therefore I'm afraid the current calm is just a rouse to allow them to rebuild their infrastructure. In the Golan Heights we are deployed in a manner that sends a clear message to (Syrian President) Assad that he cannot defeat us militarily, as Hizbullah believed it was capable of doing.

 

"It is important to stress, again, that Israel has no intention of leading into a confrontation with Syria, our forces in the Golan are and remain on a defensive mission, not an offensive one."

MK Yuval Steinitz (Likud) said he believed the IDF was now better prepared to defend Israel's north. "The army is less vain and more prepared nowadays. But despite the diminishment of Hizbullah's activities

along the border, it is important to address the threat of their long-range missiles.

 

"Over the course of the past few days there have been reports of possible attempts to mediate between Israel and Syria, although it is my opinion that Syria has not yet proved its readiness to detach itself from wicked wrong-doers."

 


פרסום ראשון: 12.30.07, 17:34
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