(Ynet News) Jonathan Schanzer - A recent aerial attack near Port Sudan along the Red Sea killed Abdul-Latif Ashkar, the successor to assassinated Hamas weapons man Mahmoud Mabhouh, who was reportedly taken out by a hit team last year in Dubai. In early 2009, Israel appears to have launched three airstrikes in Sudan, targeting Iranian weapons shipments meant for Hamas in Gaza. The weapons coming out of Sudan are the same ones that traverse Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, and are ultimately delivered to Hamas in Gaza by way of sophisticated tunnels, which Iran finances. Iranian arms account for much, if not all, of the more than 120 rockets and anti-tank missiles that have been hammering Israel in recent weeks, and the thousands in recent years. Thus, Israel's suspected operations on Sudanese soil should be viewed as an extension of its ongoing efforts to halt the firing of rockets by Iranian proxies, such as Hamas and Hizbullah, onto Israeli territory. The writer is vice president of research at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies.
2011-04-21 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive