Senior Israeli Army Officer: “We Help Egypt and Jordan Fight ISIS”

Israel’s deputy army chief-of-staff told foreign reporters on Wednesday that the Jewish state provides assistance – primarily intelligence – to Egypt and Jordan to aid in their fight against the Islamic State. The two countries are the only Arab nations to have peace treaties with Israel. Egypt is locked in battle with ISIS in the Sinai Peninsula while in Jordan, evidence of an ISIS presence has been appearing in cities and towns. Addressing the corps of foreign reporters covering Israel, Maj. Gen. Yair Golan explained that the most important element of fighting an insurgency is intelligence. He opined that although unprecedented, the Israeli assistance to its neighbors should not be viewed as a general reconciliation between the countries, but he expressed his personal optimism that “it’s a good starting point.” On the pessimistic side, Golan reiterated the dimensions of the threat from Lebanon-based, Iranian-supported Hizbullah. Calling its threats to Israel “unprecedented,” he said the terrorist organization has some 100,000 rockets and missiles in its arsenal and warned that any conflict started by Hizbullah would result in massive devastation to Lebanon. Meanwhile, on Wednesday the Israeli army blew up a terror tunnel recently discovered running from beneath the Gaza Strip into Israeli territory near a Jewish border community. On the same day, Hamas took responsibility for the bus bomb that destroyed two Jerusalem city buses on Monday while wounding 21, some critically. The only death is believed to be that of the bomber.