To ‘preclude a perilous eventuality’

The attack on an Israeli army patrol in the Golan on March 18 did not lead to great material damage.

Four soldiers were wounded, but there were no fatalities.

No panic was created in the Golan villages or among the Druze community in Majdel Shams. It was assumed that Hizbollah carried out the attack as part of a legitimisation process that has been going on for the last three years when the question of why fight Sunnis inside Syria while the party is supposed to fight Israelis was raised.

Many observers thought the Golan attack was ordered by Hizbollah’s Secretary General Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah.

Following the quick retaliation by the Israeli air force and artillery, it was found out that Al Qaeda was the planner and executor of the attack.

The operation is bound to impact Jordan more than Israel.

So far, the Jordanian branch of Al Qaeda lost more than 300 fighters in Syria during the last three years of the civil war there.

According to press statements issued by one of their leaders, Sheikh Abu Sayyaf, the Jordanian branch of Al Qaeda has nearly 1,000 members in custody here, while the total number of followers is roughly 5,000 jihadists.

Since the Al Qaeda-affiliated Islamic State for Iraq and the Levant managed to infiltrate the heavily guarded fortifications of the Syrian army, and eluded the electronic surveillance of the Israeli army, Jordan has to start immediate action to foil the potential danger.

There are many ways to neutralise such an eventuality; one would be through a UN-sanctioned enclave or security zone that extends from Deraa to Damascus, which will provide as well a safe haven for thousands of refugees.

That formula might require the approval of the United States and some regional powers, which would give their consent when properly approached.

The Jordanian terrain of rocky Edomite mountains does not facilitate the movements of Al Qaeda terrorists to connect via Aqaba with Sinai Al Qaeda terrorists.

Moreover, the Jordanian security alertness thwarts any potential attack on Jordan. But there is a strong need to create a liaison system to abort any future plans of Al Qaeda or other similar groups.

Jordan has its own highly politicised people, and is surrounded by equally highly inflammable borders, whether with Iraq or Syria.

With the Syrian regime winning its fight against the opposition, and gaining more power and might, radical groups, including Al Qaeda, will be motivated by survival instinct to target, in their retreat, Jordanian or Israeli positions.

A security zone from Deraa to Damascus might preclude such a perilous eventuality.