Alwaght- Tel Aviv regime is getting ready for war in 2018 as the neighboring Syrian government is totally defeating foreign-backed terrorists, a senior Israeli general warned on Monday.
Admitting to battlefield victories of Syrian government forces, backed by Iran and Lebanese Hezbollah, Major General Nitzan Alon, head of Israeli regime's army, said chances of war were higher than ever for 2018.
"The year 2018 has the potential for escalation, not necessarily because either side wants to initiate it, but because of a gradual deterioration. This has led us to raise the level of preparedness,” Alon told Army Radio in an interview.
The Israeli commander said Syrian president Bashar al-Assad is close to liberate the last pockets of terrorist-held areas in Idlib and, eventually, in the country’s southwest, along the Jordanian and occupied Palestinian borders, which will provide Syria's allies an opportunity to turn their attention to Israeli regime.
"In the northern arena, there is a change coming due to the strategic developments in the Syrian internal fighting. The Iranians and Hezbollah, who are backing [President Assad], are getting freed up to start building their power,” he said.
Alon vowed Tel Aviv will continue aggressions against Syria to prevent central government from establishing control over the war-torn country's territories, saying "We are not allowing these things to happen without our involvement. We are acting and will continue to act,” he continued.
Alon warned that if war were to break out, Iran would likely encourage its allies to fight Israeli regime from Lebanon, Syria and, potentially, the Gaza Strip.
"War with Hezbollah could bring in other actors, whom we’d need to fight,” he said.
Alon claimed that the Palestinian groups may also be called upon by Tehran to take part in the fighting of a future war.
The Israeli general said that in the case of war, the regime's forces would look to fight back with “maximum force in the minimum amount of time.
"We have to use the advantages the IDF has over its enemies as forcefully as possible and as quickly as possible,” Alon said.
"If the next war indeed breaks out, it will be rough. But, first and foremost, it will be rough for the other side,” Alon warned. “I don’t think any Israeli citizen would want to switch places with a Lebanese citizen during the next war."
Lebanese Hezbollah movement that has already managed to defeat Israel and make the regime to retreat from Southern Lebanon has a stockpile of some 150,000 missiles, which it could rain down on Israel at a rate of over 1,000 missiles a day, and has been preparing fighters to infiltrate into Israeli regime.
