Sunday, August 7, 2022

Israeli strikes on Gaza aimed at Iran


Ignoring the direct ties between Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) and Iran will only lead to repeated escalations in the region, according to at least one top Israeli analyst.

Eytan Gilboa charged over the weekend that American officials refraining from condemning Iran for the current escalation, including more than 380 PIJ rockets aimed at Israeli civilians, “does not contribute to stability in the region.”

“What is missing here is Iran,” said Gilboa, director of the Center for International Communication and a senior research associate at the Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies at Bar-Ilan University. 

He told ALL ISRAEL NEWS that America, which named PIJ a terrorist organization in 1997, knows that Iran is not only behind the most recent threats by PIJ against Israeli civilians, but that PIJ is completely dependent on Iran for money, weapons and training. 

“The head of PIJ, general-secretary Ziad Nakhaleh, is in Iran now getting instructions from the ayatollahs,” Gilboa said. “What is missing is a severe condemnation of Iran… Those who ignore the connection between Iran and PIJ do not contribute to stability in the region.”

The United States has been largely silent since Operation Breaking Dawn began at around 4 p.m. Israel time on Friday when Israel assassinated senior PIJ commander Tayseer al-Jabari and a cell preparing to launch an anti-tank missile attack against Israel.

“The United States firmly believes that Israel has a right to protect itself,” tweeted U.S. Ambassador to Israel Tom Nides on Friday. (Read More)