Army Intelligence chief, Gen. Aharon Farkash says that while the war with Iraq is in full swing, Arab terrorist organizations will continue their efforts to strike at Israel. Farkash cited the unwillingness of Arafat and his PA to abandon armed struggle as the major reason for the ongoing terrorist activity.
Farkash said that terror attacks against Israel will continue so long as the PA does not abandon its strategic goals: A Palestinian state in Judea, Samaria, and Gaza, with Jerusalem as its capital, and a solution to the Arab ‘refugee’ problem.
Farkash said that Israel must be ready for the U.S. attack on Iraq which should begin by next week. He added that according to Israel’s best available intelligence, Iraq does not have long range ground to ground missiles. “The chance that missiles will be fired [at Israel] is low, and the fact that the war is approaching does not mean that the danger is increasing. The probability is very low, he said.”
Despite his appraisal, the intelligence chief emphasized, “We’re prepared for any situation and if we need to respond, there will be no limitations for reaching the targets we want to reach inside Iraq.”
It should be noted that Gen. Farkash told the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee last Tuesday that the U.S. led war against Iraq should have a “moderating” influence on the various terrorist organizations that would refrain from highlighting a terrorist attack out of fear that the U.S. might operate against them as well.
Farkash said that terror attacks against Israel will continue so long as the PA does not abandon its strategic goals: A Palestinian state in Judea, Samaria, and Gaza, with Jerusalem as its capital, and a solution to the Arab ‘refugee’ problem.
Farkash said that Israel must be ready for the U.S. attack on Iraq which should begin by next week. He added that according to Israel’s best available intelligence, Iraq does not have long range ground to ground missiles. “The chance that missiles will be fired [at Israel] is low, and the fact that the war is approaching does not mean that the danger is increasing. The probability is very low, he said.”
Despite his appraisal, the intelligence chief emphasized, “We’re prepared for any situation and if we need to respond, there will be no limitations for reaching the targets we want to reach inside Iraq.”
It should be noted that Gen. Farkash told the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee last Tuesday that the U.S. led war against Iraq should have a “moderating” influence on the various terrorist organizations that would refrain from highlighting a terrorist attack out of fear that the U.S. might operate against them as well.