About this episode
Zeinab Badawi talks to Amos Gilad, Policy Director at the Israeli Ministry of Defence. Is the Arab Spring a blessing or a disaster for Israel? Upheaval in the Arab world, especially in Syria, means political realities are still evolving in the Middle East. For years Israel has seen itself as living in a hostile neighbourhood, its borders tense and prone to bouts of violence. Hamas rules in Gaza and the peace process with the Palestinian Authority is going nowhere. And then there's Iran - neither an Arab nation nor a neighbour, but a powerful backer of Syria's government in the current turmoil. And for Israeli military planners, a potential threat from a nuclear-armed Iran is probably their biggest pre-occupation. (Image: Amos Gilad)