Tel Aviv may be on frontlines of next conflict

Outgoing Military Intelligence head Yadlin says current quiet should not lull Israel into complacency, adds that Iran is number one threat.

By JPOST EDITORIAL
Updated: MARCH 27, 2018 12:21
Amos Yadlin 311 (photo credit: Ariel Jerozolimski)
Amos Yadlin 311
(photo credit: Ariel Jerozolimski)
Outgoing head of Military Intelligence Maj.-Gen. Amos Yadlin issued a warning at his final cabinet meeting on Sunday, saying that Israel should not be lulled into complacency by the relative quiet that the country has recently enjoyed.
Yadlin said that Israel's enemies, with Iran under the leadership of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad being chief among them, are "getting more powerful and better arming themselves."
The Military Intelligence chief stated that Iran's potential nuclear capabilities are not the only thing that make the Islamic Republic dangerous. He said that Iran acts against Israel through all of its enemies.
"In the next conflict there is a chance that multiple fronts will be active, and Tel Aviv can turn into a front as well," said Yadlin.
Both Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Ehud Barak praised Yadlin for his five years as Military Intelligence chief and his 40 years of IDF service.
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu paid tribute to departing Military Intelligence Chief Maj.-Gen. Amos Yadlin at Sunday's cabinet meeting, saying: "We discussed the difficult problems and new challenges that face us, from the Iranian nuclear threat through the threat of missiles and rockets against the State of Israel, the development of Hezbollah and Hamas, as well as various developments in the countries of the region."
"I believe that Amos succeeded in giving us the tools with which to assess these dangers and to prepare to meet them," Netanyahu added.
Defense Minister Ehud Barak said that "under [Yadlin] military intelligence developed...beyond what is imaginable."
"If we look at the results, I think that Amos, the man who stood at the head of this office, deserves the highest grade," Barak said.
Yadlin was scheduled to be replaced this month by Brig.- Gen. Aviv Kochavi.