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The Shadow of Iran in Israel-Palestine

The Gathering Storm, January 6, 2009

Rick Santorum

January 6, 2009

The holidays obviously did not secure peace and good cheer for everyone, as evidenced by the recent rekindling of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Ignoring international pleas for a ceasefire yesterday, Israel has expanded the scope of its ground offensive in the Gaza Strip, with Israeli tanks moving into the southern part of the region today. Hamas (Iranian-backed Islamic militant rulers in Gaza) and Islamic Jihad fighters have also reported an escalating number of clashes with Israeli troops in Gaza City. Yorem Cohen of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy reports on the developing threat posed by the Jihadist groups in Gaza, who, while appearing to act independently of Hamas leadership, have grown in strength and number and identify increasingly with the ideology and strategic model of Al Qaeda.

More than 70,000 Iranian students have volunteered to carry out suicide bombings against Israel in support of Hamas, Iran's state news agency reported Monday.

Also as a result of the fighting in Gaza, oil prices have begun increasing once again. While neither the Palestinians nor the Israelis control any oil, Iran stands to gain from the renewed surge, and by extension, Hamas (whose financial support from Iran is estimated to lie between $20 million to $30 million annually). As the Wall Street Journal reported last week, the 2008 downturn in the price of oil put a plug on the ambitions of Iran (not to mention Russia and Venezuela), but the recent price increase has re-ignited the potential for their aggressive anti-U.S. tactics to gain momentum.