ISRAEL must defend itself on seven different fronts as Iran’s puppets flex their muscles, a former British army colonel has warned.
It comes as the United States struggles to avoid an all-out war in the Middle East after a deadly attack on Israeli territory by Lebanon-based Hezbollah militants killed 12 children.
8
8
8
In an exclusive interview with The Sun, Colonel Richard Kemp agreed that Iran’s tentacles had spread to as many as seven different theaters – an idea that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu recently sounded the alarm on.
The embattled nation remains at odds with Hamas in the Gaza Strip as it struggles to eradicate the terrorist group.
Another front is the West Bank, where militias, including Hamas and others, aim to expand influence.
Hezbollah in Lebanon was this week blamed for the deadly attack on a playing field in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights at the weekend, while Iran has also increased its influence in Syria.
Iraq and Yemen, with the Houthis wreaking havoc in the latter, constitute the fifth and sixth fronts, and then there is Iran itself.
Colonel Kemp, who runs a charity linked to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), suggested that it would not be Israel’s intention to start an all-out war.
But the specter of a full-blown conflict is looming, he warned, as Iran’s proxy powers such as Hezbollah come forward with attacks on Israel.
He said, “Well, of course, this is a seven-front war that Israel is fighting now.
“All of Israel’s opponents on each of these seven fronts are a manipulated and orchestrated arm, directed by Iran.
“And Iran has shown some scale, I suppose you would call it, in coordinating actions and using one front to retaliate against actions on another front.”
Colonel Kemp added that Iran will likely continue to empower its puppets, rather than carrying out attacks alone, as it did in April when it fired hundreds of missiles and drones.
He said: “I think Iran learned a pretty significant lesson from this, firstly, that it did not have the ability to seriously damage Israel in this way, because there was very little damage done by hundreds of projectiles fired at Israel.
“Iran would be reluctant to launch another, say, large-scale attack from its own territory.
“This will use proxies across the region, I would expect, and that would include Hezbollah as well.”
Colonel Kemp expects Israel to respond to the Hezbollah attack over the weekend – in which 12 children were killed – with a significant but targeted attack.
The intention would be to hamper Hezbollah’s operations rather than trigger a broader conflict, he said.
Who is Hezbollah?
Hezbollah – or Party of God – is a Shiite Muslim movement that emerged in the early 1980s with financial support from Iran.
The group is now considered an Iranian proxy army and is bent on destroying Israel.
In 2001, UK ministers banned its external security organization, and seven years later the ban was extended to Hezbollah’s military wing.
A listing in the official register of banned groups says Hezbollah is “committed to armed resistance to the State of Israel and intends to seize all Palestinian territories and Jerusalem from Israel.”
He added: “Its military wing supports terrorism in Iraq and the Palestinian territories.”
British authorities have accused the Iranian organization of destabilizing the Middle East and is a banned group in the United Kingdom.
Any members or supporters in the UK can be jailed for up to 10 years.
But he added that it remains a possibility and Reuters reported that the US is now racing to prevent any retaliatory attacks on the Lebanese capital, Beirut, or key pieces of infrastructure such as airports.
White House spokesman John Kirby indicated that the US supports Israel’s right to respond but walks a fine line to avoid a wider war.
Colonel Kemp called on the US and UK to step up their support for Israel and ignore domestic political pressure, which has included mass protests and drama on university campuses amid the “Free Palestine” movement.
He said: “We have this power, the axis – Iran, China and Russia that threaten us, and we are really holding back, I think, because of domestic political concerns.”
US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on Tuesday told Reuters he would prefer the Middle East rivals resolve their differences with diplomacy rather than rockets.
He said: “While we have seen a lot of activity on Israel’s northern border, we remain concerned about the potential for this to escalate into all-out fighting. And I don’t believe a fight is inevitable.
“We would like to see things resolved diplomatically.”
Downing Street says escalation is “extremely worrying”
The escalation of fighting between Israel and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah is “extremely worrying”, Downing Street said.
The prime minister’s official spokesman told journalists: “We are deeply concerned about the situation and the risk of further escalation and destabilization.”
I think, as the Prime Minister has said before, the situation on Israel’s northern border is extremely worrying and we call on all parties to de-escalate.”
We call on the Israeli and Lebanese governments to engage in US-led discussions to reach a political agreement and resolve these tensions diplomatically.”
The official said he had no update and would not enter into military moves when asked about a report that British naval ships en route to the region could assist in a potential evacuation operation from Lebanon.
8
8
8
8
This story originally appeared on The-sun.com read the full story
