Round two?
IDF intelligence: Iran, Hizbullah preparing for possible US strike
Head of military intelligence says Iran, Syria and Hizbullah preparing for possible confrontation with US this summer
Ronny Sofer
Iran, Syria and Hizbullah are preparing for a possible military confrontation with the United States in the summer, the head of the IDF's Military Intelligence said Sunday.
"Their preparation is defensive ahead of war … They fear a war initiated by the Americans because they understand that there might be an attack against Iran over the summer, but not by Israel," Maj. Gen. Amos Yadlin told the Cabinet.
"We are closely following these preparations, for fear that one of the sides misinterprets certain moves in the region. I bring up the Six Day War in this context – when you reach a war no one is interested in as a result of the involvement of many players.
"We need to be ready, and at the same time be careful that such steps do not cause others to get the wrong idea about our moves," he added.
According to the intelligence chief, Hizbullah has been maintaining the ceasefire so far, because the organization is not interested in getting into another conflict with Israel. "The organization is busy rehabilitating… like the Syrians, Hizbullah too needs to prepare for a war in the summer."
Haniyeh: Divide and conquer ?
Turning his attention to Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh, Yadlin said that the latter was seeking to separate between the moderate Hamas government and the more militant Hamas movement.
"When Haniyeh retuned from the Arab summit, he made some extreme statements and hinted that if the Hamas government is not recognized by the international community and the boycott not lifted – a third intifada may break out," Yadlin said.
However, Yadlin stated that there were elements within Hamas that were unhappy with the approval of the Arab initiative. "In the last month, he (Haniyeh) has been leading the move towards a unity government, and he is now being blamed for leading a moderate approach in the Riyadh summit," he explained.
AI
