CAIRO: Claims by Israeli intelligence that Iran, Syria and Hezbollah are preparing for the possibility of a US attack on Iran in the summer, is an attempt to cast confusion on the recent Arab peace initiative, an expert told The Daily Star Egypt.
“When intelligence is leaked to the press, it is leaked for a reason, said political expert at Al Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies Sobhy Essaila.
“Intelligence talk is an interruptive and distracting ploy so that [Israeli Prime Minister Ehud] Olmert can use it as a negotiating tactic.
“Israel is trying to cast confusion on the Arab initiative and create unease with the Israeli people, he added.
Israeli Chief of Intelligence Amos Yadlin told the Israeli cabinet Sunday that Iran, Syria and Hezbollah are preparing contingency plans for a possible attack on Iran by the United States in the summer.
A senior Israeli official told AFP that Yadlin said in the meeting: “Their preparation is defensive ahead of war. They fear a war initiated by the Americans because they understand that there might be an attack against Iran over the summer, but not by Israel.
Another Israeli official also told AFP that “if the Americans launch an offensive in Iran, Hezbollah and Syria will think the move had been coordinated with Israel and would expect Israel to strike them too.
Therefore, Yadlin warned, “we might again find ourselves in a war no one wanted. Israel must be prepared and make sure its steps will not lead to any miscalculation on the other side.
In light of the recent Arab Summit in Saudi Arabia and positive Israeli reaction to Arab peace initiatives, the United States and Egypt are urging Israel to begin the process of dialogue with the Arab states.
Yadlin said: “The ball has passed from the Arab side to Israel s side and there is a need now to respond.
Essaila concurred with this statement, saying that “the Arab Summit really managed to throw the ball in Israel’s court and that is obvious by the Israeli reaction. Olmert is stating he’s willing to attend a conference [with the Arabs].
But Essaila also believes that the Israeli Prime Minister is trying to parry the ball back into the Arab court by requesting that the conference be Saudi-led, which has its sensitivities.
“This shows that they’re embarrassed, he said.
Olmert responded favourably to the joint Arab initiative during a meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, telling the news conference “I invite for a meeting all the heads of Arab states, including, of course, the King of Saudi Arabia, who I see as a very important leader to hold talks with us.
Olmert added that “if the Saudi King initiates a meeting of moderate [Arab leaders] and invites me and the chairman of the Palestinian Authority, I would be happy to come and voice our views.
However, Israel is still reticent on some of the points of the plan, mainly the Arab call for the Palestinian right of return: the return of Palestinian refugees displaced during the 1948 war.
Arab nations proposed in their recent summit a willingness to recognize and have normal relations with Israel in exchange for territory seized from the 1967 war, the formation of a Palestinian state and a “just solution for Palestinian refugees.
Essaila said: “The Arabs must press the initiative they have begun; they should not let it fade away or be appropriated by the Israelis.
