Iranian armed forces display the country’s missiles during a ceremony on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the outset of the Iran-Iraq war (1980-1988) at Azadi (Liberty) Square in Tehran where the armed forces paraded Sept. 21, 2000. (Vahid Salemi/Associated Press)

For the first time in many years, an official document from the Israel security establishment clearly indicates an “existential threat” to Israel exists.

The Israel Defense Forces’ (IDF) annual working plan for 2009 officially defines Iran as a “threat to Israel’s existence,” in terms of deployment of forces, equipment and training.

Defense Minister Ehud Barak received the plan, developed and approved by the IDF General Staff, last week.

IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Gabi Ashkenazi described the Iranian matter as “the number one threat for which the IDF is preparing.”

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The Iranian threat, comprised of a pending nuclear capability in the near future, existing and proven ballistic missile capabilities as well as its ability to conduct warfare against Israel by means of proxies – Hamas, Hezbollah and other terrorist organizations – hovers over all other plans the IDF has drafted for the next year.

In light of this existential threat posed by Iran, the IDF will particularly focus its military buildup on strategic investment in the Israeli Air Force (IAF) and in manned as well as unmanned aircraft.

Likewise, much talk exists regarding large-scale investment in intelligence and advanced communication systems.

The ground army, which took quite a leap forward in the course of the recent Gaza incursion, will continue its intensive training this year too, mostly of the regular army.

Iranian Defense Minister Mustafa Muhammad Najjar said yesterday that his country was expected to upgrade its military cooperation with Syria.

The Iranian press agency known as “Fars” reported on Tuesday that Tehran and Moscow would study ways to intensify their cooperation in the course of the latter’s visit to Russia.

David Bedein can be reached at dbedein@israelbehindthenews.com

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David Bedein
David Bedein
David Bedein is an MSW community organizer and an investigative journalist.   In 1987, Bedein established the Israel Resource News Agency at Beit Agron to accompany foreign journalists in their coverage of Israel, to balance the media lobbies established by the PLO and their allies.   Mr. Bedein has reported for news outlets such as CNN Radio, Makor Rishon, Philadelphia Inquirer, Los Angeles Times, BBC and The Jerusalem Post, For four years, Mr. Bedein acted as the Middle East correspondent for The Philadelphia Bulletin, writing 1,062 articles until the newspaper ceased operation in 2010. Bedein has covered breaking Middle East negotiations in Oslo, Ottawa, Shepherdstown, The Wye Plantation, Annapolis, Geneva, Nicosia, Washington, D.C., London, Bonn, and Vienna. Bedein has overseen investigative studies of the Palestinian Authority, the Expulsion Process from Gush Katif and Samaria, The Peres Center for Peace, Peace Now, The International Center for Economic Cooperation of Yossi Beilin, the ISM, Adalah, and the New Israel Fund.   Since 2005, Bedein has also served as Director of the Center for Near East Policy Research.   A focus of the center's investigations is The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA). In that context, Bedein authored Roadblock to Peace: How the UN Perpetuates the Arab-Israeli Conflict - UNRWA Policies Reconsidered, which caps Bedein's 28 years of investigations of UNRWA. The Center for Near East Policy Research has been instrumental in reaching elected officials, decision makers and journalists, commissioning studies, reports, news stories and films. In 2009, the center began decided to produce short movies, in addition to monographs, to film every aspect of UNRWA education in a clear and cogent fashion.   The center has so far produced seven short documentary pieces n UNRWA which have received international acclaim and recognition, showing how which UNRWA promotes anti-Semitism and incitement to violence in their education'   In sum, Bedein has pioneered The UNRWA Reform Initiative, a strategy which calls for donor nations to insist on reasonable reforms of UNRWA. Bedein and his team of experts provide timely briefings to members to legislative bodies world wide, bringing the results of his investigations to donor nations, while demanding reforms based on transparency, refugee resettlement and the demand that terrorists be removed from the UNRWA schools and UNRWA payroll.   Bedein's work can be found at: www.IsraelBehindTheNews.com and www.cfnepr.com. A new site,unrwa-monitor.com, will be launched very soon.

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