Mofaz warns of threat of international terrorism

Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz on Sunday warned of the threat that international terrorism poses for Israel's security, specifically mentioning recent reports of al-Qaida in Egypt, and December's Katyusha assault along the northern border, for which Abu Musab al-Zarqawi took responsibility. Speaking before students on the issue of Israel's security in 2006, Mofaz stated that Hizbullah, Hamas, Syria, and Iran were forming an axis of evil in southern Lebanon. The defense minister said that he had not heard Acting Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's comments on the conduct of Israeli-Arab politicians responding to Friday's attack in Nazareth, and thus could not answer an audience member's specific question on the matter.