Maariv held an in-depth conversation with Prof. Boaz Ganor, Reichman University president and founder of the International Institute for Counter-Terrorism. We discussed today's pressing issues, Iran's role in the Israel-Hamas War, and developments in the Middle East.
Prof. Ganor, one of the pioneers of terrorism research in academia, is a full-time professor and previously served as dean of the Lauder School of Government, Diplomacy, and Strategy.
Regarding the initiative for the war, Prof. Ganor has a different opinion than many of his friends in the fields of security and academia. He claimed that "the [Israel-Hamas War] was planned, prepared, financed, and initiated by Iran."
His explanation was based on three reasons: "The first reason is a reason for revenge. The Iranians like to say that revenge happened, and they have a lot to take revenge for - for scientists who were killed, fires and damage to bases and infrastructure facilities, cyber attacks, and so on."
According to Prof. Ganor, the second reason was the strategic timing: "The Iranians wanted the world's attention to turn from Iran to another arena. They are only one step away from obtaining a military nuclear capability, and the most suitable for them would be for everyone to be busy elsewhere in the world."
The third and most important reason was the fear of normalization between Israel and Saudi Arabia: "They knew that such normalization would lead to the establishment of a regional military alliance that would stand against Iran. This is the biggest nightmare for them and the strategic threat to Iran that they really wanted to prevent."
More
m.jpost.com
Prof. Ganor, one of the pioneers of terrorism research in academia, is a full-time professor and previously served as dean of the Lauder School of Government, Diplomacy, and Strategy.
Regarding the initiative for the war, Prof. Ganor has a different opinion than many of his friends in the fields of security and academia. He claimed that "the [Israel-Hamas War] was planned, prepared, financed, and initiated by Iran."
His explanation was based on three reasons: "The first reason is a reason for revenge. The Iranians like to say that revenge happened, and they have a lot to take revenge for - for scientists who were killed, fires and damage to bases and infrastructure facilities, cyber attacks, and so on."
According to Prof. Ganor, the second reason was the strategic timing: "The Iranians wanted the world's attention to turn from Iran to another arena. They are only one step away from obtaining a military nuclear capability, and the most suitable for them would be for everyone to be busy elsewhere in the world."
The third and most important reason was the fear of normalization between Israel and Saudi Arabia: "They knew that such normalization would lead to the establishment of a regional military alliance that would stand against Iran. This is the biggest nightmare for them and the strategic threat to Iran that they really wanted to prevent."
More
A cold revenge: How Iran baited Israel on October 7
"What should have been done was not to deal with the tactical threat to Israel, Hamas, but the strategic threat, Hezbollah," Reichman University President Boaz Ganor told Maariv.
m.jpost.com
