ISIS on Israel’s Borders

By Sarah Ann Haves

Today, Iran represents the greatest existential threat to Israel. But, while all eyes are focused on a potential nuclear deal between Iran and the P5+1 nations, Israel is dealing with another formidable enemy… ISIS.

ISIS recently declared it will uproot the State of Israel, including the Palestinian territories.

Arab Christians in Jerusalem are being threatened by ISIS. The terrorist group says it will kill Christian collaborators and cleanse the Old City Moslem Quarter in Jerusalem.

Israeli officials indicted five Arab Israelis in southern Israel for supporting the jihadist ideology of ISIS in their classrooms. They were from Hura, a Bedouin town. They were planning a trip to Syria where they had hoped to join ISIS.

Battles rage on in the Sinai Peninsula between pro-Egyptian government forces and ISIS operatives who have successfully recruited Sinai Bedouins that believe in the ISIS ideology. ISIS is getting closer and closer to the Israeli-Egyptian border.

Hamas, reportedly, is helping to supply arms to ISIS in the Sinai. Hamas is also successfully building new tunnels between Egypt and Gaza in order to smuggle in more weapons to be used against Israel in the future. Meanwhile, various terrorist groups in Gaza have been launching missile attacks against Israel. Their aim is to cause instability resulting in what they hope will be another Hamas-Israel war. There is an intention to bring ISIS to the forefront in Gaza. More than 14% of Gaza’s population is sympathetic to ISIS. The terrorist group is demanding that Sharia Law be implemented in Gaza immediately.

ISIS is threatening to de-stabilize Jordan; and, the Jordanian government is in the midst of fortifying its border with Syria, setting up a security zone.  Jordan reportedly has the best domestic intelligence in the world. But, the Jordanian monarchy is vulnerable if ISIS can infiltrate from Syria and convince Jordanian tribes, who have been sympathetic to King Abdullah, to switch their allegiance.

In recent weeks, the Israeli government has finally recognized that the increased threat of ISIS to Israel’s home front has increased dramatically. According to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu: “We see ISIS at the gates… Terrorism is knocking on our borders.”

ISIS is attempting to get a foothold on the Syrian Golan Heights in order to attack Israel. ISIS recently took control of the former Syrian nuclear site that Israel destroyed in 2007.

According to Udi Dekel, an analyst with the Institute for National Security Studies, “A scenario in which the Islamic State extends its control over southern Syria and the Golan Heights will bring Israel face to face with an element that does not operate in accordance with the international standard, i.e., without any rules of the game between states. If the Golan Heights and additional territories held by Assad and his allies fall to the Islamic State, the different types of weapons located in these areas will presumably be seized by the Islamic State.”

Syrian President Bashar Assad is, reportedly, hiding 50,000 kg. of natural uranium nuclear equipment, along with nuclear engineers and scientists. There is concern that Syrian nuclear material could end up in the hands of ISIS.

ISIS has not spared the Syrian people either. Reportedly, more than 3,000 Syrians have been executed by ISIS over the past year.

In a July 2015 report from the Meir Amit Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center in Tel Aviv, “The Pentagon confirmed that ISIS had accumulated radioactive materials seized in the areas that it took over in Iraq….ISIS now possesses the ability to produce a dirty bomb.”

While U.S. officials claim that coalition airstrikes have weakened ISIS, reports indicate that the campaign has not done so, and in fact, ISIS has gained some territory in Syria and Iraq. Currently, ISIS is closing in on Baghdad. In Syria, ISIS has expanded its presence in Damascus, in the mountains along the Syrian-Lebanese border, and in southern Syria.

The Israeli Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center’s assessment is that the U.S. has relied on local forces operating in Syria and Iraq, which have been ineffective in stopping the advances of ISIS. So far, America’s anti-ISIS strategy is not working.

Furthermore, intelligence gathered by Western forces has been insufficient to harm the capabilities of ISIS. The recommendation by the Israeli Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center is that America put boots on the ground if it wants to successfully defeat ISIS. But, currently, this is an unlikely scenario for the U.S. Administration.

In conclusion, ISIS poses new threats to Israel in the north and in the south of the country, as well as in Jerusalem. While there is little hope Western military forces will stop the expansion of ISIS, Israel may have to come up with its own strategies to stop the terrorist group. This is especially true as ISIS border infiltration becomes an increased threat to the Jewish State.

“Do not keep silent, O God! Do not hold Your peace. And, do not be still, O God! For behold, Your enemies make a tumult: And, those who hate You have lifted up their head. They have taken crafty counsel against Your people. And, consulted together against Your sheltered ones. They have said, ‘Come and let us cut them off from being a nation; that the name of Israel may be remembered no more.’ For they have consulted together with one consent. They form a confederacy against You.” Psalm 83:1-5

(c) 2015 Messianic Vision all rights reserved. This article is not reproducible except with permisson from Messianic Vision.

Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright ©1979, 1980, 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Ms. Haves is a news analyst, reporting on political, diplomatic, military and spiritual issues in Israel and the nations.