Dr. Glen Segell (DPhil, FRGS)
(Visiting Professor and Research Fellow in the Department of Political Studies and Governance at the University of the Free State, South Africa. He is also Research Fellow at the Ezri Center for Iran & Gulf States Research, University of Haifa, Israel, and Editor of The Middle East Tracker and The London Security Policy Study. He serves as an Executive Advisory Board Member of the International Political Studies Association Research Committee on Armed Forces and Society. He holds the rank of Brigadier-General (Reserves) and is an expert for NATO STO. His publication record can be viewed at ORCID 0000-0002-4186-2761)
Copyright: @ 2022 Research Institute for European and American Studies (www.rieas.gr) Publication date: 31 August 2022
Note: The article reflects the opinion of the author and not necessarily the views of the Research Institute for European and American Studies (RIEAS)
Introduction
Israeli police and security services expected an increase in domestic unrest during the Muslim month of Ramadan as is normal every year. There is always friction on the Temple Mount / Al Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem and this has the potential to spread throughout the country was it did last year in 2021.
However they were unprepared for the violent domestic events that started in March 2022 just prior to Ramadan. This year there were terrorist attacks in the heart of Israeli cities and the intelligence services didn’t have any prior information. Some of the attacks were perpetrated by those affiliated with the Islamic State (ISIS), even though it doesn’t have a recognized affiliate in Israel. This was a first even though the scenario had been considered for over a decade due to the presence and activities of ISIS in neighboring states. ... Read more