Coronavirus simultaneously exacerbates and curbs Israel's security fears - Palestinian military expert

Ramallah - North-Press Agency
Ahmed Ismail
The Israeli newspaper Maariv reported that Israel sent Lebanon a letter via the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) warning them of the consequences of Hezbollah taking advantage of the preoccupation with the coronavirus to launch a military operation against an Israeli target.
Retired Major General Wasef Erekat, a Palestinian military expert, said that there was a contradiction in the letters of media, health and politics in Israel in the meantime.
Major General Erekat told North-Press that contradictory Israeli messages come in the midst of the horrific spread of coronavirus among military and political leaders, as well as major infections among military members, which requires the army and Shin Bet (Israel's internal security forces) to take responsibility and support a plan for disaster response. This means that the army will take responsibility for confronting coronavirus, and this is what worries Israel.
General Wassef Erekat asserts that because of this, there are Israeli security and intelligence warnings that Hezbollah will exploit the existing atmosphere to carry out operations against Israel. These concerns were heightened by the Iraqi militia bombing of U.S. targets in Iraq last week, along with Iranian statements that Tehran is free from all restrictions imposed on nuclear manufacturing.
He explained that all of these are factors that make Israel concerned that a military operation may be launched against them to cover up the coronavirus epidemic in Iran and promote it as the source of the epidemic in the region.
As for the Israeli bombardment in Syria, General Erekat told North-Press that there is no doubt that coronavirus is reducing its momentum because everyone is preoccupied with facing the epidemic. But Erekat realizes that Israel is also aware that many wars have occurred as a result of economic crises and epidemics, and therefore it is considering all possibilities, especially the worst, because it is unable to cope in these days as it could previously because of its preoccupation on more than one front, especially facing coronavirus.