Gary Fitleberg, December 7, 2003

India and Israel’s alliance in the international "War on Terrorism" has proven to be successful thus far. The sharing of technology for military defense is increasing daily.

Indian soldiers manning the Pakistan border in the Kashmir region have reported the successful prevention of rebel infiltrations into Indian-Kashmir using new thermal imaging cameras received from Israel.

"The Israeli hand-held thermal imagers have proven effective in tracking down groups of infiltrators on the Line of Control (LoC) in Poonch and Rajouri districts," a senior army officer told AFP on Sunday.

Army officials said the imagers, with a range of up to two and a half miles, have helped stop tens of infiltrators on the LoC in the Poonch and Rajouri districts, west of Kashmir's winter capital Jammu, during the past six months.

"Patrol parties of the security forces have eliminated groups of infiltrators after watching their movement on the thermal imagers," said Dilip Trivedi, inspector general of the paramilitary Border Security Force (BSF).

A police officer said the imagers had also resulted in the killing of 15 Islamic rebels trying to cross into India in Kashmir's Mendhar area, 225 kilometers (140 miles) west of Jammu.

Ties between Israel and India have been steadily increasing ever since relations between the two countries were renewed 12 years ago, with PM Ariel Sharon paying an official visit to India in September. Trade between Israel and India reached a level of $1.25 billion last year, after beginning in 1991 with only $200 million.

Neighboring Arab countries see Israel’s anti-terror alliance with India as a threat. Pakistan issued a stern warning against military ties between India and Israel during PM Sharon’s September visit to India. The Indian newspaper ‘The Hindu’ reported on Sunday that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad "reaffirmed his country's appreciation of the 'distinct Indian denunciation' of the Israeli aggression against Syrian territory." The comments were made at a banquet hosted by the Syrian dictator Saturday night in honor of Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.

Israel and India have signed the largest military tender in the history of Israel's defense industries. The deal, worth $1.2 billion, will see Israel Aircraft Industries (IAI) provide three spy-and-early-warning Falcon jets to India.

Both India and Israel have the capability militarily to defeat their enemies especially when they share together their military knowledge and technology.

The alliance between India and Israel is clearly effective as the nations of Pakistan and Syria that are havens of terrorism feel threatened. This is a clear victory in the "War on Terrorism" internationally.

Gary Fitleberg is a Political Analyst specializing in International Relations with emphasis on Middle East affairs.

Copyright © 2003 Gary Fitleberg