The army is beefing up its defenses along the Syrian border due to concerns that
terrorists are planning an attack in the Golan Heights, OC Division 36
Brig.-Gen. Tamir Hyman said on Thursday.
Hyman briefed reporters during a
tour of border military positions throughout the Golan Heights. Division 36 is
tasked with defending the Golan and the border with Syria.
“Our
assumption is that a terrorist attack or a war can happen without warning,” he
said.
“We are upgrading our infrastructure and renewing operational
commands to prepare accordingly.”
Israel’s concerns when it comes to
Syria include the possibility that its advanced weaponry – such as Scud missiles
and chemical weapons – will fall into rogue hands as well as the possibility
that global jihad elements operating in the country will attack
Israel.
“The government’s loss of control and the instability is a
convenient area of operations for global jihad elements in Syria,” Hyman said.
“Even without signs that this is already happening, we need to be prepared. This
is the main challenge.”
The IDF is concerned about a number of types of
potential attacks, including a cross-border infiltration into an Israeli
community on the Golan, the abduction of a soldier or civilian, or rocket fire
into Israel from Syria.
While there has been an increase in the presence
of global jihad operatives in Syria, the IDF believes they are focused on
toppling Bashar Assad’s regime, but that once that happens, they will shift
their focus to attacking Israel, as their comrades in the Sinai Peninsula have
been doing.
The army is also preparing for the possibility that large
numbers of Syrians will rush the border to try to flee the regime’s bloody
crackdown.
The IDF has prepared a number of areas along the border where
it plans to contain the civilians in such a case, and protect them from Syrian
military forces if needed. The government would decide whether to allow the
refuge-seekers into Israel.