Israel to P5+1: Iran, Islamic Jihad behind rocket attack against our northern towns

Iran consistently threatens to annihilate the Jewish state, even though world powers insist the nuclear deal will make Israel safer.

By Tova Lazaroff, JPOST

Israel accused Iran and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad of deliberately orchestrating Thursday afternoon’s rocket attack along its northern border with Syria.

“We have credible information that the attack was carried out by the Palestinian Islamic Jihad Organization and was facilitated and directed by an Iranian operative Saeed Izaddhi, who heads the Palestinian unit in the IRGC QODS force [part of the Iranian National Guard],” Israel said in a message it delivered to the six world powers.

The message was authorized by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and sent out by the Foreign Ministry.

“This is another clear and blatant demonstration of Iran’s continued and unabating support and involvement in terrorist attacks against Israel and the region in general,” Israel said.

Earlier in the day, two missiles hit the Golan Heights and another two fell in the Upper Galilee. According to the IDF, they were fired at Israel from the center of the Syrian-held portion of the Golan Heights.

The IDF retaliated from the air against rocket launchers in the Syria-held portion of the Golan Heights.

But it also took to the diplomatic arena and placed the attack within the larger context of its battle against the Iran deal with the P5+1 countries: the US, Russia, China, Germany, France and Great Britain.

Israel in the midst of fierce campaign against the deal which it believes will leave Iran with the capacity to build atomic bombs and money to strengthen its military. It further contends that Iran is one of the world sponsors of terrorism and behind much of the regional unrest.

The issue is a personal one for Israel, because Tehran consistently threatens to annihilate the Jewish state.

Thursday’s rocket salvo, one of the worst along the northern border since the Second Lebanon War in 2006, is yet one more sign for Israel of the dangers of the Iran deal, which it believes will only embolden Tehran to attack Israel.

Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon late Thursday night wanted that Thursday’s Iranian sponsored attack was just the “trailer” for the longer drama that will follow should the Iran deal become a reality.

“Once the deal is signed and the economic sanctions are lifted, what we say this evening will just be the trailer for what will happen once Iran is richer and more murderous. It will provide a flow of funds and a large amount of weapons to terrorist groups so they can strike at Israel and against Westerns interests in the region. That the bloody regime in Tehran’s intention. The Western world just not be allowed to sweep this fact under the carpet,” Ya’alon said.

The Iranian authorities, through the QODS forces in Syria and Lebanon, headed by Kassam Suleimani, allows Iran to open yet another front on the Golan from which to attack Israel, Ya’alon said.

The Foreign Ministry in its message to the P5+1 countries said, “This attack has also occurred before the ink on the JCPOA nuclear agreement has even dried.”

It provides “a clear indication of how Iran intends to continue to pursue its de-stabilizing actions and policies as the international sanctions regime is withdrawn in the near future,” Israel said.

“The international community led by the P5+1 cannot enable Iran to gain respectability and political legitimacy form the JCPOA while in parallel it continues to actively and directly perpetuate terror throughout the region,” Israel said.

The rocket salvo was unprovoked attack that violated UN Security Council resolutions, the Foreign Ministry said. It is “also a clear indication of how Iran will continue to undermine regional security, its commitments under the JCPOA and UNSCR 2231 that endorsed the plan of action,” Israel said.

In addition to Iran and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, Ya’alon fingered Syrian President Basher Assad, who he said was also responsible for the attack since the rockets were fired against Israel from territory he controlled.

“We will not tolerate attempts to disrupt Israel’s sovereignty and impact the security of its citizens. We will respond with force to anyone who tries to challenge us.”

Dawoud Shehab, an Islamic Jihad spokesman in Gaza, denied the group had fired on Israel from the Syrian Golan.

“Israel is trying to divert attention from the defeat that it suffered in the face of the determination of the hero prisoner, Mohammed Allan,” Shehab told Reuters.

Allan had refused food in protest at being detained without trial by Israel. On Wednesday, he called off the 65-day hunger strike after the Supreme Court suspended his arrest warrant.

The possibility that Allan might die of his fast had drawn Islamic Jihad threats to attack Israel which in turn deployed Iron Dome rocket interceptors outside Gaza as a precaution.

Islamic Jihad acknowledges receiving support from Iran.

Reuters, JPost.com Staff and Ben Hartman contributed to this report.