Israeli Military Creates New Intel Unit Just to Monitor ISIS

Cynthia Blank

January 5, 2015

IDF Creates New Intelligence Dept. to Monitor ISIS

The Israeli Defense Forces have created a new department dedicated to intelligence information on the terrorist organization Islamic State. 

The IDF first began following the spread of ISIS in April 2014, which they learned about primarily through social networking. 

However, Channel 2 News recently discovered that the Directorate of Military Intelligence (known in Hebrew as Aman) have increased intelligence collection, thereby developing a specific body charged with gathering intelligence on the terrorist organization. 

In fact, it was an existing intelligence department whose job has now been redefined, that was entrusted with the highly specialized task.

"We made adjustments when we realized that the phenomenon of ISIS breaks any previous historical limits,” a senior intelligence officer told Channel 2. 

"Most of our intelligence on the organization comes from the network, because ISIS does not belong to a particular arena where we have intelligence sources." 

Surveillance in Aman is divided by arenas. At first, the IDF tried tracking ISIS through Syria, but quickly realized that the terror group was extraordinarily unique, and could not be tracked through one specific arena. 

"The moment we saw the first significant surveillance footage, we understood that this is something completely different," the officer added. 

The IDF tracks, among other things, the fighting methods of the organization, the statements of its leaders, and published propaganda videos. Their major concern is the spread of ISIS within Israel’s borders - an already present phenomenon. 

Another major concern is that Palestinian Arab residents of Judea and Samaria, dissatisfied with their leadership, will join the organization. 

"For the IDF, it is a very disturbing possibility that these video will affect the Palestinian Arab public, already very frustrated with their leadership, and we follow that trend religiously,” the officer noted. 

He also addressed ISIS’ skill in recruiting young people to join the terrorist organization. 

"ISIS’s people are knocking on our border," the officer said. "Today there are strong in Sinai and therefore we have to prepare for it. In general all threats of terror within our border employ all of the IDF." 

The officer added that with time, Aman’s monitoring of the organization will increase even more, given the organization’s strengthening and closeness to Israel’s borders.