(AP/Guardian-UK) Laurie Copans - The Jordan River, which forms the West Bank's border with Jordan, has great strategic importance. Since Israel captured the land nearly four decades ago, the country has invested in the area with a view toward keeping it for good. When Israel started putting Jews in the valley in 1968, it saw them as a way to prevent Jordanian and Iraqi attack from the east. Peace with Jordan removed one threat, but the current war in Iraq has made it an unstable entity with the potential to infiltrate al-Qaeda terrorists and other extremists into Israel. The Hamas victory in Palestinian elections in January "has created an entirely new strategic reality for Israel which vastly increases the importance of the Jordan Valley for Israel's security in the near term," wrote Dore Gold, a foreign affairs adviser to the Israeli government, in a recent research paper.
2006-05-10 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive