The Wider Impact of the Kidnappings in Israel

It is ten days since the capture of the three Israeli teenagers. World leaders and even the Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas condemned this act of terror. In South Africa the Jewish communities gather at synagogues for prayer vigils, praying for the save return of the captured teenagers. On Sunday, 22 June 2014 a Christian organisation, David and Jonathan Foundation and a Jewish organisation, Group Eighteen organised a joint prayer meeting in Paarl, Cape Town, South Africa to pray for the three teenagers.

Others started campaigns by linking the kidnapping of the Israeli teenagers with the kidnapping of the schoolgirls in Nigeria. The world is shocked by the seemingly new tactic of terror groups, blatantly contravening international law and treaties. We are once again reminded of the brutality of radical Islamists.

It is no coincidence that we saw an increase in terror activities before and after the kidnappings. In Nigeria the Jihadist group Boko Haram targeted churches and Christian villages on an almost daily basis. In Iraq, the Sunni Islamist fighters (ISIS) advanced after they captured two major cities in Iraq, Mosul and Tikrit. Today (Sunday 22 June 2014), they captured two border crossings, Turaibil on the Iraqi-Jordanian border and Al Walid on the Iraqi-Syrian border, gaining ease of passage to Syria and control of the strategic trade artery between Iraq and Jordan.

Also on Sunday, a 13-year old boy, Muhammad Karaka, from the Galilee village of Arraba was killed and his father was seriously injured by rocket fire from Syria. The fire targeted the vehicle of his father, who was employed by the army for work on the Golan border fence near Tel Hazeka. The IDF responded with tank fire against Syrian positions across the border, after finding that the attack was deliberate.

The roundup of Hamas members in the West Bank (Judea and Samaria) by the Israel Defence Force angered this Jihadist organisation and warned Israel of a third Intifada (uprising). The Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at a cabinet meeting on Sunday reiterated that Israel has unequivocal evidence that Hamas was behind the abductions.

Nobody can say for certain that the kidnappings in Nigeria and Israel are mutually inclusive and part of a broader strategy by Islamists. However, it could be derived from the current developments on various fronts that a serious push for an Islamic Caliphate in the Middle East and North Africa is in progress. These developments should be of great concern for all peace-loving people.

It seems that Israel is the only country who fully grasps the extent of the Jihadist threat and is also prepared to confront this growing threat before it become out of control. The IDF is already weighing its options as to how to respond to the incident on Sunday when a teenager was killed by an attack on the Golan by Syrian forces or Jihadist forces.

The Middle East is entering a new phase and Israel could soon face security problems on various fronts.

Watch video: Bring Back Our Boys