Mumbai: India and Israel are facing the
brunt of terrorism due to strong presence of jihadi elements
in Pakistan and the Middle East, a retired defence official of
Israel said on Thursday.
"This is posing a big problem for India as well as
Israel... strong presence of 'jihad' elements in the form of
terrorists in Pakistan as well as Middle East, including
countries like Syria, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Turkey and Iran, has
disturbed peace in these areas," said Brigadier Gen (retd)
Shalom Harari of Israel defence force.
"Like India, Israel is also facing adverse impact due to
this. Growth of terror elements is a big concern for both the
countries," he said, adding, the terrorists were also in
possession of a very huge quantity of weapons.
"Pakistan is posing a big problem to India as well as to
Israel," he said.
Harari was addressing a panel discussion on "Combating
Terrorism: Lessons from Israel and India" organised by
Observer Research Foundation Mumbai in association with The
Israel Project.
Terrorism in Middle East region would not die in the near
future, he observed.
"The best way to deal with the troubled neighbouring
countries where terror elements are taking shelter is to be
prepared for the possible terror strikes, put a lot of budget
for security purpose and procure high tech equipment. A
country needs to follow the trail of the money of suspected
organisations. This is what Israel is doing," he said.
The meaning of Islam has been misinterpreted by some
people, who provoke terrorism, Harari said.
"Terrorism in the Middle East countries and Pakistan is
linked and there are reports that the latter is planning to
sell explosives to Saudi Arabia," he said.
Julio Rebeiro, former Mumbai Police Commissioner and
former Indian Ambassador to Romania, said the community from
which people were involved in the terror acts should be taken
into confidence and they should be educated about the
ill-effects of terrorism.
"Terrorists seek assistance from their own community
brethren but if we take them into confidence, they will help
us in catching suspects and prevent terror acts," he added.
"That is the reason why mohalla (local) committees that
involve people from different communities and police have been
formed in Mumbai. These committees discuss various issues
including terrorism and talk of solutions," he added.
Rebeiro also suggested that political interference in the
police department should be stopped.
PTI
First Published: Friday, November 11, 2011, 00:38