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The ISIS Challenge in Syria; Implications for Israeli Security
(Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies-Bar-Ilan University) Prof. Hillel Frisch - To what extent does ISIS pose a threat to Israeli national security, and what should Israel do to meet that threat? Israel would enjoy a freer hand against ISIS than did the Syrian regime, which had to compromise its fight against the organization because of its need for the very oil that ISIS had wrested from the state. ISIS, unlike the Palestinians, would not enjoy international support that might seriously inhibit Israeli action. Israel must clearly convey its red lines, the most important of which is the prohibition of the transfer of advanced missile launchers and rockets through both seaports and airports in Lebanon and the Alawite state (if not overrun by ISIS). Israel must clearly signal to Iran that infringement of these red lines will result in the destruction of the installations in question. As long as Iran does not infringe its red lines, Israel will remain militarily neutral in the conflict with ISIS, with the possible exception of defensive activity on the Golan Heights, such as support for the Druze community in Jabal al-Druze. The writer is a senior research associate at the BESA Center.