“The endless debate over attacking Iran notwithstanding, in recent days Israel’s attention has been primarily focused on what’s going on in the northern arena.

Evidence of this is the frequency with which the senior defense brass has been paying visits to the Northern Command divisions. Chief of General Staff Lt. Gen. Benny Gantz toured the 91st Division on the Lebanon border yesterday, and Defense Minister Ehud Barak visited the 36th Division on the Golan Heights this past Thursday.

Barak and Gantz are in agreement that the Assad regime’s days are numbered; what’s uncertain is when it will fall. Israel has publicly declared its concern for what might happen to Syria’s stockpile of chemical weapons and missiles when President Bashar Assad loses control.

The second cause for worry is Hezbollah (which would presumably be the primary recipient of arms transferred from Syria ). There is concern the Shi’ite group might try another terror attack at an Israeli target abroad, following the suicide bombing of the tourist bus in Bulgaria. Another “success” by Hezbollah, or even an effort to deter the group from trying again, could spur an Israeli operation against Hezbollah targets in Lebanon.”

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