Maj. Gen. Nitzan Alon, head of IDF’s operations branch, says Islamic State is “our enemy” and Israel is sharing intelligence with allies battling the group • International coalition is making gains against the group, but struggle will be long, he says.
Associated Press and Israel Hayom Staff
Maj. Gen. Nitzan Alon | Photo credit: Uri Lenz
A top Israeli general said Wednesday that the Islamic State group is “our enemy” and that Israel is sharing intelligence with allies battling the extremist group, despite remaining on the sidelines of Syria’s civil war.
Maj. Gen. Nitzan Alon said that while Iran remains the greatest threat to Israel, Islamic State is also a dangerous adversary.
Israel has kept its distance from the civil war on its northern doorstep, wary of appearing to side with any of the warring parties — nearly all of which are hostile to it.
But Alon, who heads the military’s operations branch, told reporters that Israel is essentially part of the international coalition against Islamic State and shares intelligence with its allies.
“From Israel’s perspective, we definitely see Daesh [the Arabic acronym for Islamic State] as an enemy,” he said.
Although Islamic State has yet to strike Israel, the extremist group’s leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, said in December that “we haven’t forgotten you [Israel]” and “we are getting closer to you” every day. He said Israeli Jews “will hide behind trees and stones.”
Israel is bitter enemies with President Bashar Assad’s government in Syria, which is backed by Iran and is a major sponsor of the Lebanese terrorist group Hezbollah. But Israel also fears Islamic extremists among the ranks of the Syrian rebels.
Israel has stayed out of the Syrian war, except for returning occasional cross-border fire. It has also reportedly carried out airstrikes to prevent Syria’s advanced weaponry from falling into the hands of Hezbollah.
Alon said the international coalition against Islamic State was making gains, but he anticipates a long struggle.
“I don’t think that Daesh will collapse in the coming months or year,” he said. “It won’t be easy. Not short and not easy.”
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