Israel’s Northern Command chief Aviv Kochavi said that the border with Syria has become a sector from which terrorism is aimed at Israel. PHOTO: NRG/Gil Eliahu Jini.

Israel’s border with Syria has become a hotbed for terrorist activity targeting Israel, said Israel Defense Forces Northern Command chief Aviv Kochavi on Tuesday, Israeli NRG news reported.

“The northern sector has undergone a radical change,” warned Kochavi at Mount Adir, during an annual ceremony to honor the fallen soldiers of the Second Lebanon War. “Global jihad has expanded into the Syrian sector in the Golan … We have to prepare our forces for war.”

Because the Jewish state’s border with the Golan Heights has turned into a battlefield between radical Sunnis, represented by al-Nusra Front and the Islamic State, and radical Shias, led by Hezbollah and Iran, Kochavi said this has allowed the “enemy to continue its buildup of missiles and rockets, and Iran is increasing its presence in the region, as well as equipping our enemies and planning multiple attacks against us.”

The commander asserted that Israel should not draw conclusions from the temporary situation prevailing in Syria, “where state-sponsors of terror and terrorist organizations are fighting each other.”

According to Kochavi, there “is no strategy or plan being devised to build up military strength in light of the present deceptive situation, which is transient and impermanent. The situation could change in a single moment.”

Israel “must prepare [its] forces for war, both on the Lebanese front and on the Eastern front, and set up for a sharp and decisive response against them, which will have clear and unequivocal results,” Kochavi concluded.