The ongoing turmoil in the Arab world impacted Israel today on three of its four problematic fronts. There was an attempt by a terrorist to enter a Kibbutz in the south today. How he got there from Gaza is not at all clear. Thankfully he was caught. The search in the West Bank continues for the kidnapped students, while at the same time doing everything possible to undermine Hamas there. Tonight the sense is that this effort has gone as far as it can and will be called off in the next day or two. Meanwhile, the search continues. The official word is that the boys are alive. However with much of the search taking place in water wells and similar places, you can draw your own conclusions. On our Northern border an anti-tank missile was fired at an Israeli car. The explosion killed the vehicle's 15 year old occupant who had gone to work with his father this morning – the first day of summer vacation. It's not totally clear which forces are responsible– those aligned with Assad (i.e. Hezbollah) or the Syrian Rebels. Either way this represents a dangerous escalation.
Although the real concern at the moment is that the ISIS in Iraq has ignited something that coud easily spread throughout the Arab world – and first and foremost to Jordan. Their success in Iraq seems contagious. Of course before it can spread back to Jordan, Lebanon, and of course our way ISIS first has to contend with the Shites who are mobilizing. It's hard to say that we are uninterested in the outcome. Though it is even harder still to say that we could possibly have rational policy. The general rule of thumb is that when your enemies are killing each other – stay out of the way. However, there are no assurances that when all this sorts itself out we will not find ourselves in a worse position.
