Israeli Military Spokesman: Rocket Fire Shows Iran ‘Pulling the Strings’ in Gaza, Lebanon

Brigadier General Also Posts Caricature of Ahmadinejad

In comments today on Facebook, Israeli military spokesman Brig. Gen. Yoav Mordechai insisted that the recent rocket fire from the Gaza Strip, which came following the assassination of a militant leader by Israeli warplanes “shows” that Iran is secretly “pulling the strings” both in Lebanon and Gaza.

The accusation follows the previous comments from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claiming that the exchange of fire with Gaza, which ended with a number of slain Gazans and a few injuries in Israel, proved the need to confront Iran militarily. Brig. Gen. Mordechai, apparently to strengthen the case, included a caricature of Ahmadinejad as a puppeteer in the posting.

Iran’s influence over the ruling coalition in Lebanon and well as the Hamas movement in Gaza have been major causes of concern for Israel, much as Israel’s increasing influence in Azerbaijan has created headaches for Iran.

Interestingly enough, however, Hamas was not at all involved in the exchange of fire with Israel last week, and it was smaller Gaza factions including the PRC and the al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, traditionally antagonistic toward Hamas, that confirmed firing rockets.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.