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Israel heading into ‘most dangerous May since 1967’

April 23, 2018 at 2:36 pm

Former Israeli Intelligence Chief Amos Yadlin warned on Sunday that Israel is facing the “most dangerous May since 1967,” Israeli news website Ynet News has reported. His reference was to the month preceding the Six-Day War in June, 1967.

The current head of the Institute for National Security Studies (INSS) warned that Iran might attack Israel in revenge of the latest Israeli attack on the T-4 base in Syria. Yadlin cited the senior commander of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Corps, Hussein Salami, who claimed that Iran could “erase Israel” and “destroy its air force.”

According to Yadlin, Iran has no such capability, but he noted that it is capable of causing damage to the Israeli air force. Neither Israel nor Iran is interested in an outright confrontation, he insisted, but both sides are determined not to concede anything. “I do not denigrate the Iranians’ capabilities.”

One of the reasons for Iran’s power, he explained, is its presence in Syria. “We cannot allow [the Iranians] to have a permanent presence in Syria. We have to be very clear with ourselves on the threat that we cannot tolerate and what threat it would be better not to confront them on.”

Poll: 52% of Israelis fear war is near

Yadlin added that the Great March of Return along the borders with Gaza is another threat facing Israel in May. Palestinians mark “Nakba Day” on the 15 May, when they remember the creation of the state of Israel on their land in 1948.

US President Donald Trump has said that he will decide in May whether to scrap the nuclear deal with Iran. This could influence any possible Iranian retaliation against Israel.