WASHINGTON – Recent pledges of allegiance to ISIS from Sunni jihadi groups in the Syrian Golan Heights and from Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis in the Egyptian Sinai Peninsula have ISIS poised to attack Israel from the north and south.
As WND recently revealed, Israel has been downplaying criticism of ISIS, because it views Hezbollah and its backers in Iran as the greater threat to its security.
There also are reports that Israeli hospitals have been tending to wounded ISIS fighters from the Shuhada al-Yarmuk Martyrs Brigade, located near the Jordanian-Israeli border.
Israel has increased defenses in the Golan Heights opposite Syria, where the al-Yarmuk Martyrs Brigade and two other jihadist groups operate.
In addition to the Shuhada al-Yarmuk Martyrs Brigade, the other jihadist groups in the Golan Heights are the Abu Mohammed Al-Tilawi Brigade and Bayf al-Maqdis, all centered near Derra in southern Syria. Some of their fighters already have taken up positions just a few miles from Israel’s northern border.
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All three jihadi groups recently pledged allegiance to ISIS.
While Israel is watching ISIS activities in the Golan, its greater concern is the weapons shipped from Iran being smuggled through Syria into Lebanon for Hezbollah’s use.
With its fighters gathering north and south of Israel, ISIS may be undertaking a risky strategy to begin attacks on Israel as a way to gain even more recruits from Arab countries, Iraqi investigative journalist Riyadh Mohammed told the Fiscal Times.
Until now, Sunni Arab countries have complained to ISIS, which adheres to an extreme form of Sunni Wahhabism, that it has been attacking predominantly Arabs and Muslims and instead needs to direct its attacks on Israel.
As a result, ISIS could launch attacks on opposite ends of Israel in an effort to attract more Arab recruits, similar to what deposed Iraqi President Saddam Hussein attempted to do when he launched Scud missiles into Israel in the 1991 Gulf War.
At the time, the United States had a loose coalition, including Egypt, Syria and Saudi Arabia, joining forces to kick Iraq out of Kuwait following its invasion.
The launching of Scuds into Israel, however, raised the prospect of Tel Aviv attacking Iraq, an action that would have made the Arab countries abandon the U.S.-led coalition.
It took the quick work of former U.S. Secretary of State James Baker and the immediate installation of U.S. Patriot anti-missile systems to convince Israel to refrain from any retaliatory strikes.
“The same is true now,” Mohammed said.
The ISIS strategy that appears to be emerging is one in which an attack on Israel could draw in the U.S., possibly undermining the loose U.S.-led anti-ISIS coalition comprised of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Qatar and Bahrain.
There already are disagreements among current coalition members as to what the real goal is in launching aerial bombing attacks in Syria, as WND recently reported.
The concern has been enhanced since ISIS captured a Jordanian Air Force pilot on Wednesday after his F-16 jet fighter went down while undertaking a military mission against the jihadist army in northern Syria.
ISIS says it shot down the F-16 with an anti-aircraft missile, although U.S. officials contend it was downed due to mechanical difficulties.
U.S. officials say that most of the airstrikes against ISIS have been undertaken by U.S. fighter aircraft, with Arab coalition members providing what has been described as a “supportive role.”
The Arab countries won’t elaborate on that role , fearing possible ISIS retribution and the arousing of domestic opposition to coalition efforts.
In Jordan, there is serious opposition to attacks on ISIS in Syria and Iraq.
ISIS could use the captured pilot as leverage to get Jordan to leave an already shaky coalition.
The U.S. sees the aerial attacks as going after ISIS while the participating Arab countries view the Syrian government of Shiite-Alawite Syrian President Bashar al-Assad as the main enemy.
While the U.S. would expect a proportionate Israeli military response if attacked by ISIS, any sustained Israeli attacks also could threaten the alliance, sources say.