Special to WorldTribune.com

TEL AVIV — Israel’s military, facing threats from at least three
fronts, has been preparing to expand special operations.

Military sources said the General Staff ordered an increase in
special operations over the last year. The sources said the increase was enabled by
the expansion of special operations units in all three military branches.

“I am simply accelerating all those special operations,” Chief of Staff
Lt. Gen. Benny Gantz said.

In an April 25 interview to the Israeli daily Yediot Aharonot, Gantz
said the increase in special operations has reached “tens of percent.” The general said elite units were operating in enemy and other countries throughout the world.

“You almost won’t find a point in time that nothing is happening
somewhere around the world,” Gantz said.

The sources said the military was looking to import advanced combat
platforms and equipment for commando and other special operations units.

They said military delegations were examining a range of options,
including the V-22 Osprey, deployed by the U.S. Marine Corps and developed
by Boeing and Bell Textron Helicopters.

In December 2011, the military said it would establish the so-called
“Depth Corps,” meant to coordinate special operations. The corps was
designed to help draft inter-service operations, including the army’s
General Staff Reconnaissance, the navy’s Flotilla 13 and the air force
Shaldag.

Israeli military analyst Amir Buhbut asserted that the military has more
than doubled special operations since 2006. Buhbut said the special
operations units were assigned to stop weapons sent from Iran, Lebanon and
Syria to the Hamas regime in Gaza Strip.

  advanced combat platforms, General Staff, Israel expanding special operations in all military branches, Lt. Gen. Benny Gantz, V-22 Osprey