Israel: Threats From The South

We've been watching the threats from the north (Lebanon and Syria) and the threats from the 'outer circle', mainly Iran and Turkey (with Russia behind the scenes), not to mention northern Africa, but now we see the increasing concern due to the threat from the immediate south:

Israel Asks Egypt To Take Armor Out Of Sinai

The Israeli government has asked Egypt to withdraw the armoredvehicles it deployed in Sinai ten days ago, in contravention of the peace treaty between the two nations, according to Al-Quds Al-Arabi, which quotes Israeli sources.

Israel said that the deployment of armored forces in the EL Arish area was only reported to it retroactively by Egypt, after the forces had already been deployed. Once Egypt supplied Israel with the full details about the extent of the deployment, the Jewish state asked Egypt to withdraw its armor from northern Sinai.

Residents of El Arish in northern Sinai reported on August 9 that the Egyptian militaryhad sent reinforcements of "unprecedented" size into the peninsula, according to the Egyptian Al Ahram newspaper. The forces reportedly include 60 tanks on 30 tank-transporters, 12 armored personnel carriers, 15 additional armored vehicles, more than 20 armored jeeps and 10 Military Police jeeps.

There was also a report that no less than 400 'Fahd' armored vehicles were sent into the Sinai.

IDF Stations Iron Dome Battery In Eilat Amid Grad Threat

The IDF stationed an Iron Dome rocket-defense battery west of Eilat on Sunday. The move comes days after two Grad type rockets were fired at the Red Sea resort city, apparently from the Sinai Peninsula.

The remains of a Grad rocket were found on Friday evening, in a mountainous area north of the city of Eilat, the Israel Police said.

Eilat residents flooded the police's emergency number after hearing the explosions, police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said.

Moderates fear militant Salafists in Gaza and Sinai are joining forces, creating an environment ripe for al-Qaida were it to seek a base for use against Israel or the more moderate political Islam of Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood.

Facing Sinai Terror: Elite Unit Welcomes New Commander

The IDF's elite unit for special operations in the Southern Command, Sayeret Rimon, said good-bye this week to the officer who founded it two years ago. The commander, who can only be identified as Maj. B., is concluding his term at the head of the unit. He has led its development for the past two years. During that time, writes Hadas Duvdevani of the IDF Website, he has built its operational capabilities, turning it into a powerful force defending Israel's south.

The unit was established when the terror threat from Sinai became a pressing problem. Since then, the terror from Sinai has only gotten worse.

http://www.israeltoday.co.il/NewsItem/tabid/178/nid/23348/language/en-US/Default.aspx">Ahmadinejad: We Will Destroy Israel Soon

For the umpteenth time, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Friday publicly declared that the primary foreign policy goal of his government is to see the Jewish state erased from the map of the Middle East.

"The Zionist regime [is] a cancerous tumor," Ahmadinejad told millions who took to the streets of Tehran to mark Iran's Quds Day, an angry commemoration of Israel's sovereignty over Jerusalem.

The Iranian leader continued:

"Even if one cell of them is left in one inch of (Palestinian) land, in the future this story (of Israel’s existence) will repeat. The nations of the region will soon finish off the usurper Zionists in the Palestinian land... A new Middle East will definitely be formed."