MI Chief: Israel�s success battling terror has turned world against us

Haaretz (Link) - Jonathan Lis (January 19, 2010)

Military Intelligence Chief Amos Yadlin said Tuesday that Israel�s success against Palestinian terror has turned the international community against both the state and its activities.

�The Palestinian Authority is encouraging the international arena to challenge Israel�s legitimacy and its activities,� Yadlin told members of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee.

�The paradox of the current situation is that one of the primary sources that has led to the discussion on Israel�s legitimacy is precisely its success against terror,� Yadlin said.

The fact that Israel is no longer suffering from terror or from an immediate military threat has made it easier for the international community to accept claims against Israel�s security activities,� he added.

Yadlin also said that the Palestinian Authority�s struggle against Hamas in the West Bank stems from its internal security needs and not from �a love of Israel.�

�They don�t want to find themselves in the same situation that Fatah did in Gaza,� Yadlin said.

He added that the Palestinians are also trying to persuade the international community to force Israel to return to peace negotiations, but on their terms, which include a compete halt to settlement construction including in East Jerusalem.

Yadlin went on to address Iran�s nuclear program as well, saying that Tehran is continuing work on it and the international community is preparing to impose sanctions against Tehran.

�As long as Iran is not under heavy pressure, it doesn�t feel the need to renounce this crucial issue,� Yadlin said.

The military intelligence chief went on to discuss the recent tension between Israel and Turkey, and said that in the past the two shared mutual interests that strengthened ties between them. For example, he cited, �during the 1990s Turkey saw Syria as an enemy country, meaning we had a mutual enemy and joint interests.�

�In the past Turkey strived to get closer to the West more than they wanted to get closer to NATO, they wanted to be part of the European market and they thought their relations with Israel would give them leverage with the American market,� Yadlin said.

�But the Europeans turned their back on them, and they didn�t get what they wanted. Therefore they changed their policy and are currently in a process of distancing themselves from secular views and becoming more and more radical,� Yadlin said.