TEL AVIV — For the first time since the 1960s, Israel's intelligence
community has raised the prospect that the West could abandon its support of
a
Jewish state.
Officials said the intelligence assessment determined that European
Union officials regard Israel as the main reason for the Western crisis with
Iran, Middle East Newsline reported. They said Israel has become the focus of Iran and other Muslim states
in what could result in a nuclear war in the Middle East.
Officials said the intelligence community has warned of a movement
spreading in Europe and the United States to form one state that would
include Israel, the Palestinian Authority and perhaps Jordan. The proposal
was seen as a means to end Jewish sovereignty and replace it with an
Arab-dominated confederation.
"The idea is based on the view in the West that a Jewish state is no
longer desirable and Jews should become a minority in a much larger entity,"
an official said. "It's an idea that is spreading within the European elite
and discussed in the United States as well."
The assessment said EU and U.S. diplomats were increasingly seeing Iran
as an emerging nuclear power that must be treated as the Soviet Union during
the Cold War. The diplomats were also said to favor Western engagement with
the Hamas regime in the Gaza Strip.
The Cabinet was briefed on the Israeli intelligence assessment during a
meeting on Nov. 21. ISA director Yuval Diskin said the proposal of "one
state for two people" was sweeping Europe. He said stalemate with the
Palestinian Authority could accelerate this concept, which he said was meant
to delegitimize Israel.
