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"Israel fears it is Zarqawi's next target"
UPI ^ | Dec 15 2005 | MARTIN WALKER

Posted on 12/15/2005 2:27:31 PM PST by jmc1969

ARTICLE SNIPPET: "Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the jihadist terrorist leader in Iraq, is preparing bases and logistics to extend his campaign against Jordan and Israel, a top Israeli policy adviser has warned: a clear sign that senior Israelis now judge that the U.S. war in Iraq has not made Israel any safer.

"It would be a cardinal error for Israel to conclude that after the U.S. war in Iraq, the region to Israel's east is moving in the direction of greater stability and, therefore, Israel can take the risk of conceding its strategic assets in the West Bank," claims Ambassador Dore Gold in a new policy paper just published by Israel's Institute for Contemporary Affairs.

"Were Israel to withdraw from the strategic barrier it controls in the Jordan Valley, then Israeli vulnerability could very well attract more global jihadi elements to Jordan, who would seek to use the kingdom as a platform to reach the West Bank and then Israel," Gold continues.

"Zarqawi now wants to destabilize Jordan, but clearly seeks to target Israel as well," Gold adds. "Dismissing the value of Israel's security fence, Zarqawi's organization has declared: 'the separation wall...will feel the might of the mujahidin,' hinting that Israel could face the same waves of insurgent volunteers that have entered Iraq'."

Gold, a former Israeli Ambassador to the United nations and close adviser to Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, claims that al-Qaida and its jihadist allies are moving ever closer to Israel."