Israel, ISIS and the Paris attacks
While the world was mourning the victims of the terror attacks in Paris, Beirut, Egypt’s Sinai desert, and elsewhere, Israel was occupied with other matters: how to make the best use out of these attacks locally, regionally, and globally. Let me explain what I mean.
Globally, Israel used last week’s attacks to showcase its intelligence superiority. Israeli intelligence reportedly warned the US and UK about the possibility of these attacks, as stated in Israeli daily newspapers from both the Left and Right.
This is not only a security related matter, but also a marketing strategy and branding tool that aims to place Israel as a more powerful player on the global ‘counter-terrorism’ map. When Arab countries claimed to have sent intelligence information to France, the Haaretz correspondent said the “west doesn’t trust Arab intel agencies…the western intelligence community is suspicious of links between Arab regimes and terror groups”.