(CBNNews).The upsurge in rocket attacks out of Gaza and the recent deadly bombing of a bus station in Jerusalem were not coincidental, according to the second highest ranking member of the Israeli government, Vice Prime Minister Moshe Ya'alon in an exclusive CBN News interview.
"We believe that behind the scenes, Iran is involved..Tehran is trying to exploit the current instability in the Middle East in order to export their ideology -- the Revolution -- and to undermine moderate regimes and on top of it, to challenge us."
Ya'alon agreed with the notion that Iran has seemingly given the green light to its proxies, like Hamas and Islamic Jihad, to up the ante against Israel and to increase attacks.
"We have in Tehran a messianic, apocalyptic regime, We are only the minor Satan, America is the great Satan. What is America? It is the West, led by the United States. Their aim is to wipe Israel off the face of the map on their way to defeat America."
But Ya'alon says the Iranians are not alone in inciting terror against Israel, the recent murders of an Israeli couple and three of their young children by Palestinian terrorists were the end result of daily anti-Semitic indoctrination by the Palestinian Authority.
"If Israel doesn't appear on the Palestinian maps, or the land of Israel is covered with the Palestinian flag; if they consider occupation since '48, not since '67, it means that the conflict is not about the size of Israel or its borders, but it is about our very existence".
Ya'alon said he is also concerned about developments in the nation bordering Israel to the south, Egypt, where the radical Muslim Brotherhood is steadily gaining influence.
"They have a very clear goal: to impose Islam everywhere, Either by converting non-Muslims to become Muslims or through the sword -- to kill them."
"I can't speak about moderate Muslim Brotherhood elements, No way."
Meanwhile, another international challenge to Israel is also building. The Palestinian Authority appears to be encouraging the European Union and the United Nations to unilaterally declare a Palestinian state. And some South American countries have already followed suit.
"To force such a move on Israel will be a disaster not just for the state of Israel, but for the West as well, For sure, what we are going to face in the West Bank, in Judea and Samaria, is a failed and hostile entity.
Despite the variety of possible threats, Ya'alon said Israel will be prepared for any challenge that comes its way.